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THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF 
CHINAWARE 


PLATE 1 


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SPIIG YA ‘oJIYM o1JUID *S|TOIOS 


090904 413 4}M pespe sjoued spy M poAtosar pedeys Ur spoosul pUe solytoyjng ‘spliq poInojod-1}[ NW 9140xe ‘Iap1oqd anjq a]vIg 
UALLV1Id AALSAOAOM 


The Practical Book of 


CHINAWARE 


BY 


HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN 
AND 


ROGER WEARNE RAMSDELL 


With 205 Reproductions and Diagrams 


Including 12 in Full Color 


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HALCYON HOUSE 


NEW YORK 


distributed by Blue Ribbon | 


Inc., 386 Fourth A 


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New 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES 


BY THE CORNWALL PRESS, INC., | 


TO THE MASTER AND MISTRESS OF HAR- 

INGTON HOUSE, BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER, 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, THIS VOLUME IS DED- 

ICATED WITH SINCERE FRIENDSHIP AND 
REGARDS 


FOREWORD 


HIS is the only work in one volume that covers the 

chinaware of all countries. It is a complete compen- 
dium for the collector and all in search of information, 
fully setting forth the essential facts, systematically ar- 
ranged for easy and ready consultation, and with many 
cross references and comparisons. 

The novice, who delights in the beauties and posses- 
sion of old china, but knows little about the means of 
identifying the various kinds he admires or seeks, will find 
herein the key and a trusty guide for his quest. 

The collector of long experience, who is familiar with 
the characteristics of many different makes of china and is 
usually able to identify them from personal knowledge 
without other assistance, will nevertheless find in this 
volume the necessary data for reference or comparison 
which few can hope to carry wholly in their heads and for 
which it is convenient to turn to an handbook. The book 
has been schemed throughout to make it especially 
convenient for just this sort of ready consultation. The 
comparative tables and cross references will be found 
particularly helpful for this purpose. 

““Of making many books there is no end,”’ might well 
be said of books about chinaware and porcelain in general. 
The subject has always been peculiarly alluring, and to 
glance at a bibliography of the books that have been 
written, dealing with one phase or another of the ceramic 
art, is positively appalling. In the face of such a multitude 
of volumes, it may be asked why the authors venture to 
put forth another. The answer is simple. It is, just be- 
cause there are so many other books and because none of 


them covers the ground in the same way. 
vii 


viii FOREWORD 


Many of these books deal with only some one partic- 
ular kind of china, or with some particular phase of its 
manufacture. Many others are so highly specialised on 
the purely technical side of manufacture as to be of little 
direct value to the average person. Many more are so 
loosely arranged and so diffuse in generalities that they 
are almost useless for casual reference; extended search 
and perusal are necessary in order to get at any specific 
facts. Many are in foreign languages. Many are out of 
print. To have even a third of them for consultation 
would mean a fair-sized library on chinaware alone. 

In the present volume it has been the aim of the 
authors so to marshal the facts and condense the state- 
ments that convenience of use may be assured and waste 
of time through searching in the wrong place avoided. 
They have endeavoured, so to speak, to reduce the sub- 
ject to its lowest terms and to present the essential facts in 
such order and arrangement that all the aspects and inter- 
relations may be quickly grasped. In other words, they 
have tried to make a usable book, and its usability is its 
justification. 

It has seemed not only advisable but absolutely neces- 
sary to set limits of date beyond which the different sorts 
of china cannot be considered. These limits extend from 
the beginnings of manufacture to 1840, and they are set 
for the following reasons. First of all, china, like every- 
thing else, suffered from the nineteenth century collapse 
that befell good design and good taste, a collapse that had 
become general by 1840. Thereafter, for a long time, there 
was little made that was worth recording. Second, the 
fashion for one factory to copy the works of another, 
though always practised to some extent, had grown so 
common by this date that individuality was at a discount. 


FOREWORD ix 


Third, were all the modern varieties of china to be in- 
cluded, the bulk of the volume would be unmanageable 
and much of the matter contained would not interest the 
majority of readers. Fourth, the characteristics of modern 
china are sufficiently well known and the different sorts bear 
enough identification to make notice herein unnecessary. 

This book deals only with such china as the person of 
average means can expect to have, either by way of in- 
herited ownership or by purchase. What are distinctly 
““museum”’ rarities are omitted; space devoted to them 
would little avail most readers. ‘The rarer kinds of Oriental 
porcelain, therefore, are not considered; besides, they are 
very fully treated in books exclusively devoted to them. 
For the same reason—unlikelihood or impossibility of 
acquisition—various European porcelains are mentioned 
only in general historical notices and without the detailed 
discussion bestowed on the varieties of china made more 
extensively and over a longer period. Such, for example, 
are the sixteenth century Medici porcelain, made in 
Florence, and the seventeenth century porcelain made at 
Rouen. In cases like these the manufacture lasted for 
only a very short time and comparatively few pieces were 
made. To-day there are less than fifty authentic speci- 
mens of the Medici china known, and the Rouen china 
is likewise about equally rare. Needless to say, all the 
known examples of either have been jealously cherished 
for years past in either museums or well-known private 
collections, so that there is not the least chance of the 
china-lover or collector lighting upon anything of the 
sort by way of a “‘find.”’ 

Following the general introductory matter, the 
arrangement of this volume goes by countries. First 
comes the china of China along with the Japanese porce- 


x FOREWORD 


lain; in this division are treated those sorts of Oriental 
china that exercised a profound influence on early Euro- 
pean design and those sorts that found their way to the 
West in large enough quantities to make them well known 
features of domestic plenishing in England and America 
in previous generations. Amongst these last will be found 
the so-called (Lowestoft that never saw the town of Lowes- 
toft. Next follow the china products of the different Euro- 
pean countries. Then comes the chinaware of England and 
America, appearing last so that the reader may seestraight- 
way how far foreign influences have‘or have not affected 
the art in the forms most familiar to the majority of us. 

There are five factors to consider in judging a piece of 
chinaware—the body or “‘paste,”’ the glaze, the makers’ 
marks, the manner of decoration and the character of the 
colours. These are all dealt with in their appropriate places. 

In conclusion the authors wish to thank all who have 
contributed to the making of this volume, but especially 
William Burton, Esquire, for his many kindnesses in 
criticism and his courteous permission to quote several 
passages from his writings; the authorities of the British 
Museum and of the Victoria and Albert Museum, espe- 
cially W. W. Winkworth, Esquire, A. G. Cook, Esquire, 
Eric Maclagan, Esquire, Bernard Rackham, Esquire, and 
William King, Esquire; Doctor Samuel W. Woodhouse, 
Jr., Esquire, of the Pennsylvania Museum in Philadel- 
phia, Henry Batsford, Esquire, and the directors of the 
Museums at Worcester and Doccia; and Messrs. Reeves 
and ‘Turner for the gracious permission to use a number 
of the marks from Chaffers. 

Haroitp Donatpson EBERLEIN 
RoGerR WEARNE RAMSDELL 


Broapway, WORCESTERSHIRE 
April, 1925 


CONTENTS 


ee ee le eee eS 
SSS Sd 
Meme ING OF CHINAWARE.. «1. occa ceed ele nee cccnee 


Eat Sine wns a aie. sje) 0 la se ievlecn «pve. Shiela © eo Ble se wes 


ME er ir a Rh A Go LS ee cape alle 
I ES a lala glee 
ee we YEA RSMAS Shere ere ee: 
Ee et rh he i Sie er aoe Edie e oatphalie Siena 


MMR Oat ad sy gi nk a fe a 6 dd 4 Ke 8 nik 6 oe eR Oe ee 8 ee ew Se 8 ons 


CAT 9 8 te ee a Oa ar a ae ea ere ee eer ee ar wey eae a ce a 
RM er ee gga. ee sts, gla Jk o) ¥ we Sie ele Roe be boa) Gomes ew ae a 


te RE a a ere rarer rari ne ere e Neri eee k ge aie ke) 


PAGE 


xii CONTENTS 


BERLIN--PRUSSIA a). pistes vb es gaa oa ee soe eae 
H OCHST 8) OR Oe He oO C1, Oye aa are ee oeetee ee ee eee ee eo &. 25.0782 8 Ss 


AUSTRIAN CHINAWARE......6ccase. ela... 
VIENNA (SS ee oS eee 
HEREND (HUNGARY) *\ 4 Ss van ee ueee es +s wl nee eee 


Swiss CHINAWARE. 6:0 0 ve) ee a eae es 


NIEUWE AMSTEDB 6 000%. on oie! olen 6 oem) why ee eal eee 
THE HAGUE, oo oiec. cia k ye ee ae a wee ewe Be lk ac ie 
BRUSSELXS owe be eine 0 66 ak 9 oe ad Ole whe mn eielle aetna en 


Russian AND Poitiso CHINAWARE.<:..;:.+.5 fap eee 
ST, PETERSBURG... : oo os sen os nc ee oe 
MOSCOW. ocsac dict eieiel el) SS ee 
KORZEC eee Sea dae bed be ctl a esa : 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE : o oc es ce ccc ale ee ci Rae 


CONTENTS xiii 


Enc.LisH CHINAWARE—Continued nies 
GAUGHLEY........ ee A gay AE Saray ie eatin : . 268 
ORES Fo Sen ae tee ae eC 268 
TE oe te cid pate cease eee k aoa aoa ge 29% 
I fos Poe diy wie ake OLR se ole Wie CHET 273 
nee CSS he ian pis! bin va W'S Siete ee og ares iw we 4 ee ele 278 
SIRE RISCLEINGPORT 05000 y 3'e laine live wb ne x)k Wel eae woes 278 
MEMO TEETRLAY (Cd ee Sl vey dw ako 270 
se) oo aga a alos. s oad midi 6a We w,el vs e's ws whee 280 
I ee eons) fond ac wes 6 nie nd ew ase ee ee Sie pi aes 282 
EEE MMC oe2o 8 ys Foo oo nas. ky So ek ee! pote Wo nee Bon levees wea 285 
MIR BS WORTH ........5%. me fe ie eSk Pia Teel SOE ha «ae aN pA ge 287 
NR Ms gee aces hs layu ck eS ee ae sv a es en whee 288 
PUTO MASON 0 6k i rein eek cele a San wpe bas 291 
EAULDON (RIDGWAY) .......... ie PEMA GPE aN EA gee MS 291 

MT OUINA WARE (56.050 sc sles co veec eevee eeeswaeeeene 293 
RR RTS ote Shc aa a wb oie oe tino wha wate belgian 204 
MRE UDHIA (SOUTHWARK) . 2... 00 cs eco cece sew euvesece 204 
BERGEN (NEW JERSEY)........... Pea ee Scat bee Bd aye 2096 
MEW TORK. ........ ee ee eas ia, atau Ke ete aw Aes 0s 207 
PHItADeLPHIA (TUCKER) .....:.....0%:. Pep Some pr eke ated: 207 

Re ale cence wees beet deeb wena 303 

Tg nk ge ce ce ste bw ewes 311 


* VAI. 


De > > > be bd be De > 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


ee ie 6m @ os Ke ee Uy Cite 6 a es ee Oe ee ie € 


Characteristic Types of Decoration 
Covered Blue and White Ming Jar 
Bememerand white Ming Bowls: . 20... j60..- cee ae cae 
B. Blue and White Ming Platter 
MUAY VASO. os ais x vy vin pe on Oe ke wey ens 
A. “Rice Grain” Cup and Saucer 
Bema ye ite Pictced Cup ad ce ee eee ee ne 
Se yenite Ware’ Prunus Blossom Cup,.)............5.-+45 
ieeaga White Prunus or “Hawthorn” Jar................-. 
Paravian | Vase, “Dead-Leaf”' Brown Glaze..............:. 
Peete iar (Platter... 6 oe. a ok ee (Colour Plate) 
A. Blue and White K’ang Hsi Bowl 
Seer eee ane yy ite Wing Plate... 0 ce pe we 
‘Two Eighteenth Century Blue and White Plates.............. 
eet ane 118] BOW). 2 ise de ce ae ee ee es 
Mereentn century Polychrome ‘Tray. .....,-. 05+ 6.4-4-06- 
Peau ere bowl, Nankin Yellow Ground...............5... 
Memeererserovcnrome Plate... ee ee ee 
Meeeeere late Jowee-Head Border... eee ss 
ea emee hos Octagonal Plate... .......6.5.5 (Colour Plate) 
8 OREO SD Fee oe ae ae (Colour Plate) 
Beier eet, Dat Decoration. se ce ee ees 
Peerenteents Century Octagonal Plate.... 6. .266- 64.0 ee 
. Blue and Gold Cup and Saucer, Eighteenth Century........ 
Bovenweenty Century Cup and Sancer.... 0.2 Vo..s< es cans 
Peart cers ite... Wiandarin’ Figures, 00 iv cc oe ee 
Penne entry “jesnit’ Plates. 2.0. vas md eee 
. Eighteenth Century Plate with Waved Rim.............. 
Speer awestolt ~ Mug i foe eg ee Se ewe ee 
Beemer owestort’ Beaker Vases. 0a see 2 ee ee 
Mee nrueee Lowestoft’ Covered Jari... iawn toa ee 
pea Acninesc. Lowestoft’ Bowl... 2.5. Gua a kee lee 
Chinese Green “Lowestoft” Sance Boat,......-.....+. 555% 
“Lowestoft” Helmet Cream Jug and Sugar Bason............. 
Me tawestott’. Cup, Black Decoration. ... 0... 6.4347) .454<- 
Beevers “Saucer, Lransfer Imitation. <)... sa...) 664 ve. 
. Eighteenth Century “Lowestoft” Teapot..............-- 
. “Lowestoft” ‘Teapot, Brown Monochrome.............-. 


A pees Se tae tee te. Te rea i ene Ge eile we ee le ee 


wrens! PO) oe Cee oh eee eae me) ve ie, ce eS) eb ie) 


She De, A Secs. eee MS ele. Pine jm meee 6) 3. es hee 


je fel Ca tae et ee) ke a a 6 eR eke awe ke ne wy le We ae 


Sa 6 et oe 2 6 @ 8 ee ee ee ge 8 ete ee le 


bo > bd > 


Page 


ILLUSTRATIONS 
A. Apple-Green. “Lowestoft”: Platter... .. 4.05) ee 76 
B. “Lowestoft” Dish, Strawberry Decoration..............-- 76 
Japanese Imani’ Platter! Gia ek eee (Colour Plate) 78 
A. Eight-Sided. Hizen Polychrome Bowl... .. dae 84 
B. Kutani Pear-Shaped Polychrome Bottle.................. 84 
Bowl of: Medict: Chinas if. 6.42.0 Vas Se 84 
Ginori: Platter, 1997)... ccva's ams 49s 0 one sob 84 
A. Ginori Ice Pail, “Dresden” Manner. : | )s. 5) eeeee 84 
B. Ginori Soup Plate, Moulded Rim...) ee ee 84 
A. Ginori Platter, Chinese Peony Decoration.......,-s500 005 92 
B. Ginori Covered Dish, Modelled Ornament............... 92 
A. Ginori Plate, “Empire” Style. .. <2. 02g 92 
B. Ginori Plate, Oriental Decoration. . :. 5 do See 92 
A. Ginori Neo-Classic Urn-Shaped ) Jar...) 92 
B. Ginori Neo-Classic Chocolate Pot... ~. 423 92 
A. Ginori Sweetmeat Dish, with Medallion, a2 yeaa 92 
B. Ginori ‘Tureen on Legs 2.2 /..... 52. 5 ee 92 
Ginori Modelled Figures. ........... 5.9 5 epee 100 
A and B. Ginori Cups and Saucers, Monochrome............. 100 
C. Ginori Reproduction of Capo di Monte Figure...... ove 100 
A. Sceaux Ice Pail... 2.4 2.2.2. (Colour Plate) 98 
B. ‘Ginori Oval Platter: . 2.0.4. Seabee (Colour Plate) 108 
A. Capo di Monte Cup. ..............2 segs oe 108 
B. Naples “Pompeian” Tureen and Platter, 47 108 
Le Nove Jardiniere.... 22... 4.1.5 oe oe 108 
A. Venetian Cup and Saucer. ....)2. 7033) eye 108 
B.. Venetian Tray with Shaped Rim. .: 3.5 e. 108 
A. St. Cloud Moulded: Flower Pot... iyi): gee 108 
B. St. Cloud “Prunus” Blossom Teapot! 5.5 37 108 
A. St. Cloud Jar, Blue Baroque Decoration). 2) eee 116 
B. St. Cloud Jar, Polychrome Reliefs... ay.00 eu ee 116 
Chantilly Gravy Boat, “Kakryemon” Manner. 2.) ee 116 
A and B. Chantilly Flower Pot and Lobate Dish... 27-2. 3 ue 116 
C, Chantilly Oval Pierced Fruit Dish >. 229 ee 116 
Mennecy-Villeroy Vase... .. 2.0). 2. 02 ego ape 116 
A. Mennecy-Villeroy Covered Jar. ... (ii. ees eee 124 
B. Mennecy-Villeroy Covered Dish... ...0 p09. ¢gi eee eee 124 
‘Three Vincennes Vases... 2... is's sd «5 bye Seen 124 
A. Tournai Flower Pot. .)...; 2.) ee 124 
B. Arras Flower Pot, Blue Decoration. ~...)) 3) 124 
A. Dresden Plate, ““Kakiyemon” Manner....... (Colour Plate) 126 
B. Sévres Green Covered Jar... 5... 235 ee (Colour Plate) 126 
A, Sévres “Directoire” Cup and Saucer... 8 ee 132 
B. Sévres Diapered Cup and Saucer, .-. cine ue ee are 132 
Sévres Vine and Trellis’ Teapot... 50. ygeae 1-0 epee ee 132 


54 


ILLUSTRATIONS XVil 


Ren eretaeone Late. fe.) er vie a oie OR 32 
Geers Piare-lop Cup and Saucer... isi. ice tee ce te ee 132 
Been Mee Eitpire Ohape: oie 4h Chi wed we oe ok lene 132 
Hm, oevres Cup and Saucer, Empire Shape.:.......0.6..5....0- 140 
PMIRP aE? aNG GaNCEL SS go ea cd cae ees eae « 140 
Prem told Bowl and Ewerec. hei s. ci nec y ccc dees ee 140 
eee Promire Shape ti.) ois ek eine Bea 140 
peeeorire pup, All Gold. Decoration. . 2.4 cies eee cde - 140 
me eeemiteer Tlower. Pot. gis tdi ec ee os ww ce Sew Da 140 
Premeareumennes. Covered Sugar’ Bagon. .. 0. eee cee a ede. 140 
Poeeerued. niu Pattern Soup Plate. . 2.5.00... .00...8. 148 
B. Dresden Cup and Saucer, Typical Flowers... .............. 148 
Beer emorecren Chocolate Pots. 0). en ees bee eee a 148 
RIE NOP a eek oa ed ew ee ey 148 
momereroen tirure of Lace Makers... 6. cae ce eee nee 148 
eR A INICLE 6 A ee Fa es vino 5 oo isi are sala ss bt 148 
A. Nymphenburg Flower Pot..... Fe ete eee fale ae es 148 
eI ates OAL. cc's Voie veo adie so WEN ae ee 148 
A cies sv we. beg alauk We Peewee le ee. 156 
RN ig. Ghai ng se wi oswiels bla lece ae vies 156 
UM PEN CCT oo ke ik che vie hie sha ane lado e a 156 
bee ermaviaik jug, Empire Shape... 0... see Seb el. 156 
fee reeoure Cup.and: Saucers... kn ees eves wd 156 
Pee etena Pray with Pierced Rim. iis 2 wae we aces ce 156 
Sepecmmarene nou. LUreeh 60. ss Lee hee a oe ee ben 156 
A. Bow Blue and White Plate, Chinese Manner.............. 72 
B. Bow Blue and White Sauce Boat, Chinese Manner......... 172 
feehor nance Boat, Rococo Manner, 0... gece wea cee eee 172 
meow sauce Boat, “White Ware”... 01... see dee tees ee 172 
pomuowemicerwrih Bulging Base... ssc esd aw nb eee ss so: (72 
I Dee 1 CADE 2 3,55 a ea Gains apd ole nj we 172 
Seeerrmetercent eh rnit Tish ses os fe eb wm nv ble ew wa ea le 172 
ptarnetateMonided «Rims o 5. csi. x ce adnan eee pene ds 172 
Paar geet thie WW DIG eck a tn ae ase ee Weg. space oe 172 
emt wees Coal. Ground |. sane. os bee Ma eRe sabe ame 172 
Poe wand lestick, NModelled Figure... 5.00 oly sae cee eee: 172 
mecoyierced Kruit-Dish and Stand. ... 5. iene ease aos 180 
Meats -oraped Chelsea Mug vo uvicas Gy diva le ba ee te Males Lae 180 
Stieisea Oblong Octagonal: Platter... i. 2..is0500- Mer eee 180 
mertonemes rinted Chocolate Pot... 23). Cori. awk. Shane a. 180 
Pemest s Hight-sided .. Vases ys%. 3. ve ewies Ss g a cee es 180 
mee eres a sawer L1Older . . ie ees Lis ged sale eel cab aly 180 
Poosmte hemea Covered Sugar Bason:. ... fs 00-0 es ewe. 180 
EC RY Se aces ane” Saree rewi se! Seg Bie ar cor (Colour Plate) 222 


Peeeameeetort Cup and Saucer... ... 2.5.6. gant (Colour Plate) 222 


XVI111 
ii 


100 
Io! 
102 


103 


ILLUSTRATIONS 
A, Worcester imari i Leapot itn, pote ae Oe ee eS 228 
B.: Worcester “Imari” Plate.) owe ate os 228 
Late Worcester Landscape: Plate. 3 °.',..)¢. 43 52 228 
A. Worcester. Blue and White Bowl)... 2). eee 228 
B. Worcester Plate, Shaped Reserved Panels................. , 228 
Worcester Chocolate Pot, “Mandarin” Figures.........1....- 228 
Worcester Vase, Late Period 3). 8200-8). 1. 236 
Worcester Chocolate Pot, Domed Lid...:. . 1.2 |. 20a 236 
Worcester Soup Plate, Green Monochrome.................. 236 
Early ‘Worcester Apple Green Mug). 2... J). 236 
A, Derby Oval Butter ‘Dish. 0. 005 2. 3) 244 
B. Derby. Vase, Blue ‘Ground. 5: 0) 5. 244 
A. Derby Plate; Flowered Border... ..\. 4.72 ee 244 
B. Derby Plate, ‘Imari’ Manner... i. 32) 244 
A. Derby Arabesque Cup and Saucer... .. 0g 244 
B.. Derby. Bowl... 0002 le ok 244 
Plymouth Covered Jar, Chinese Shape... >. 72.20) ne 244 
Plymouth Mug, Swelling Base: ...... . . +. 99a 252 
A. Plymouth Mug... 0.23.35 62s 2 252 
B. Plymouth Sauce Boat, ‘Rococo Shape, 2. >. ee 252 
Bristol Chocolate Pot, Domed Lid; ... 2.77) = 252 
A. Bristol Pear-Shaped Chocolate: Pot, 0) .03 he see 252 
B. Bristol Figure of Autumn)... ol) 252 
A, Bristol, Plate with Birds and Butterflies; 7.7), 6) eee 260 
B. Bristol Plate with Flowers and Ribbons, 4.) 32930) ane 260 
A. Eighteenth Century Chinese Powder-Blue Vase. (Colour Plate) 254 
B. Caughley Mug. y foo.) 3.206 (Colour Plate) 254 
A. Lowestoft Small Bowl. ... 2.75 20.7 0 260 
B. Lowestoft Mug, Cornflower Decoration. 1.212" 720 ae ee 260 
A. Lowestoft Butter Boat, ..... . 0... 2 260 
B. Lowestoft Cream Jug. i005 sc os 260 
C.: Lowestoft. Pierced. Fruit Basket. ., )..s 2 260 
A. Caughley Saucer, Blue and Gold Decoration.............. 260 
B. Caughley ‘Two-Handled, Covered (Cup 22) eee 260 
A. Spode Oblong Sugar Bason......¥..% 4a). ee 268 
B. Caughley Oval Sugar Basson... 24). irene ee a. 208 
A, Spode Covered Butter Dish..00.0.0,)) i ae eee 268 
B. Spode Stone-China Plate. ....... 7.5. ue ae 268 
Spode Oval Dish, Transfer Printed... 2.333) =n 268 
A and B, Spode Butter Dish and ‘Tray... 1. 268 
A. Spode Vase, “Imari” Decoration... 0. 2203) ia 2 276 
B and C. Spode Cup and Saucers, “Imari” Manner........... 276 
A. New Hall Cup and Saucer. .3. 0... ee 276 


B. New Hall! Straight-Sided ‘Teapot... .. 20 eee 276 


104 
105 


106 
107 


108 
109 
110 
III 
112 


113 
114 


115 
116 


Fig. 


NOM SPQ DN & 


ILLUSTRATIONS Dabs 


A. Swansea Vase, Modelled Flowers....................... 276 
MUNERERSELINIEDO eR tee he toy Ps ok a 276 
Mermautearw Pilate, Flower Motifs... .. 66.000 ee ee. 276 
meomantearw Plate, Reserved Panels................5..... 276 
emrmerest are, bird Moth oo) oho ee ee oe no ec: 284 
Semteroy CUpiand Sacer. oi ins oe bv es Phe dee le 284. 
Pemmenteatweinkpot, Empire Shape.........0...03-0.05 005. 284 
Semoteorteautter Dish in’ Tray. 60. s eek cee ee ee 284 
ee einrical Vase. ce kfc os Bde eWba cave. 284. 
Meeetewoer ast ougar Bas 6. se hee es 284 
Perevermenam Jug. 6. ee eee CT ermine eae me te 284 
eemererpeom Cap and Saucer, 1.046605. 6 ceed eee cae cc: 292 
RETA VASE i oie tlw cee hs we PCa che bk 292 
Pememrmer oneliennaped Dish. 0... lk i ee whey ees 292 
Seeeterer fie. haracteristic Shape. 3... 06). 0 ee 292 
pemeraceee car Bason, ¢: 1830... i.e cde. cee eee ae ee 292 
Mec eei rote C1830 52. oa. ok de Co ed ee ws 292 
Waren uaceer Water Jug, Typical Shape...0...... 2.00. 000 005 292 
SRI eet Ate es i ie ne eee ee ew eas 292 
Seer sper ucker Ug ee ee ee ee eee 292 
ee eiaetment of southwark Porcelain. ......... 0.0200. 04055: 292 
B. Oriental Teapot and Cups, Seventeenth Century........... 292 
Pmremmccrorinire Plate, 066 i. ee ee ek ee 292 
Sree OC. ESO oy a cbs ie ie ee ee et ks 292 
DIAGRAMS 
eraraceeristic “oninese Porcelain Shapes... ......,.........4% 57 
Characteristic Chinese Porcelain Shapes..... tae pa Mars Sel ie ae 58 
Characteristic Diaper Patterns used in Chinese Porcelain....... 68 
Characteristic Diaper Patterns used in Chinese Porcelain....... 69 
Characteristic Diaper Patterns used in Chinese Porcelain....... 70 
Typical Emblems used in Chinese Porcelain................ 72 


Typical Emblems used in Chinese Porcelain................. a3 


THE PRACTICAL BOOK 
OF CHINAWARE 


“CHINA-MANIA” 


** “HINA-MANIA” was an epidemic that once held 
the whole of Europe in polite and beneficent thrall. 

Its furore was as great as “tulip mania,” but longer-lived; 
for the results of both we have cause to be thankful. 
Chinaware was the “‘new toy” of the Western world from 
the middle of the seventeenth century until the eighteenth 
was well advanced. During all that time the enthusiasm 
for Oriental chinaware maintained an intensity that we 
of to-day, accustomed as we are to the finest porcelains of 
East and West, find it hard to understand. However 
much we may sincerely delight in rare or beautiful china- 
ware, the keenness of our admiration for porcelain as 
porcelain—porcelain as the embodiment of certain physi- 
cal properties—is somewhat blunted by constant associa- 
tion. We have been used to it from infancy. We take it 
as a matter of course; it is a familiar incident of everyday 
life. Even though we may treasure no especially note- 
worthy porcelain amongst our own household possessions, 
we know it well in the collections of museums. To our 
seventeenth century forebears, however, the wondrous 
quality of the porcelain substance was a revelation that 
provoked unmeasured delight. They straightway recog- 
nised porcelain as the most patrician product of the 


potter’s art and paid homage to its worth. 
I 


2 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


But, over and above the charm of an hitherto almost 
unknown substance of exquisite delicacy and refinement, 
which extended trade with the Orient had placed within 
their reach, there were combined with it the marvels of 
glowing, brilliant colour, the engaging patterns of decora- 
tion, and a beguiling novelty in the diversity of shapes. It 
is no wonder that chinaware won an instant hold upon 
their affections. Personal whim and the behests of fashion 
doubtless played their parts at first in establishing the 
sway of chinaware, but its own intrinsic excellences made 
so strong an appeal to common-sense and good taste that 
the permanency of its place could never afterward be in 
question. 

We are so used to chinaware as a part of the daily 
machinery of polite life that it is an effort to envision the 
way of things before china cups and saucers, plates, plat- 
ters and dishes became commonly accepted table plen- 
ishings. The nobility and gentry had table services of 
silver or pewter, pewter of course being much the more 
abundant. At the same time, there was a certain amount 
of Delft pottery in use. Even amongst the less well to do 
there was usually a plentiful garnishing of pewter, while 
the hinds were content with simple and substantial 
earthenware that would come under the head of crockery. 

The habit of drinking tea, coffee and chocolate, which 
came into vogue about the middle of the seventeenth 
century and gained headway with amazing rapidity, gave 
the initial impetus to a general introduction of chinaware 
and supplied the stimulus for its popular acquisition. So 
long as ale was a prevalent breakfast beverage, or meet for 
polite tween-meals refreshment in the afternoon, the most 
fastidious could be quite content with mugs and tankards 


“CHINA-MANIA” 3 


of silver or pewter. But these new exotic drinks required 
something different. Imagine drinking tea out of a pewter 
tankard! The glamour would be gone and the flavour 
would be annihilated. ‘Tea pre-eminently, and coffee and 
chocolate in scarcely less degree, demanded the association 
of porcelain both for the sake of the flavour and also on 
esthetic grounds. It was natural that these foreign po- 
tables should be accompanied by vessels deemed appro- 
priate to their serving in the countries of their origin. This 
was peculiarly true in the case of tea, the subtleties of 
whose taste and fragrance could so easily be destroyed by 
contact with a wrong substance. Fashion prescribed 
dainty cups of porcelain, later designated ‘‘China-ware”’ 
from the place of its provenance, although ‘‘Gombroon 
ware’ was an earlier name to which we shall have occa- 
sion to allude hereafter. 

Fashion having set the seal of its approval upon tea- 
drinking and the use of porcelain therefor, the chief 
devotees of fashion accordingly employed tea tackle of the 
choicest chinaware they could come by. The emulative 
instinct in humanity has ever been the same. What the 
leading devotees of fashion did, that other folk imitated as 
fast as they could. And thus the use of teacups and their 
related accompaniments became one of the foremost 
means of causing a general, popular and intimate acquaint- 
ance with the worth and desirability of chinaware. The 
old table services of pewter or silver were not summarily 
abandoned the instant china teacups came into the house, 
but once the possessors of porcelain tea equipage learned 
to appreciate the elegance and manifold fascination of 
chinaware—and this they did very soon—it was only a 
short time before other items of chinaware multiplied with 


4 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


amazing rapidity until its possession became a positive 
mania and complete table services of porcelain became 
the pride of their owners’ hearts. Queen Mary was a sin- 
cere admirer and ardent collector of chinaware and her 
example had much to do with firmly fixing its hold upon 
popular esteem. China-mania and the Queen’s precedent 
were responsible for evolving a new article of furniture 
—the hooded china cabinet with glass doors that made its 
appearance as a distinctive mobiliary item of the William 
and Mary period. This gave an opportunity to display, 
without undue ostentation, the choice pieces of porcelain 
that china-lovers delighted to acquire. 

What was true in England was also true in the 
American Colonies. The Colonists were always alert to 
know exactly what was going on in the Mother Country, 
even to the minutest detail in the current fashions of 
clothing. Whatever elegancies of domestic appointment 
came into general favour in England were sure to appear 
a very little while afterward in the houses of affluent 
Americans in New England, the Middle Colonies and the 
South, for they were prospering and wealth was increasing 
apace as the result of their industry, initiative and com- 
mercial activity. Their circumstances, growing yearly 
easier, enabled them to gratify their tastes for the refine- 
ments of life and to order from London merchants what- 
ever luxuries within reason they desired. 

Before the seventeenth century came to a close, there 
was an appreciable amount of good china to be found in 
and round about Boston, Philadelphia and New York, and 
throughout the great plantations of the South. In the 
early years of the eighteenth century the quantity of china 
arriving at American ports waxed steadily more and more, 


PLATE 2 
BAROQUE ROCOCO NEO-CLASSIC NEO-GREC 


Teapots 


Cups 


Various 


Lita a 


TABLE OF CHARACTERISTIC CONTOURS 


A. K’ang Hsi, Baroque; B. Worcester, Rococo; C. Derby, Neo-Classic; D. Derby, Neo-Grec; 
FE. Chinese, Baroque; F. Chelsea, Rococo; G. Sévres, Neo-Classic; H. Sévres, Neo-Grec; 
1. St. Cloud, Baroque. J. Mennecy, Rococo; K. Spode, Neo-Classic; L. Vienna, Neo-Grec 


PLATE 3 


SuIplts posiey "y tiaMoy ,,IJOSIMO'T,, °O SorpleloyT “dT ‘surjurid qojsuely, *O. 
SOSUISD “AT icnneeaeee ae nan pue piiq esouryy °7 {eued poarssoy “y ‘,,uvreduod,, *“f *,,j09SUT pue 


JaMOY peis4jzeos,, Uapsaiq “7 {uazIy{ “yf, wiiepuey,, “D9 ‘ew “y f‘uowedAmey “g ‘91M purentg ‘gq senboreg *D ‘pel[PPON “_ ‘peplnoyl °V 


aqdAL OILSIVALOVUVHO 


\ 


COVERED BLUE AND WHITE JAR OF MING PERIOD 
Glaze of faint bluish tinge; flowing pattern in light blue and two shades of dark blue 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


PLATES 


A. BLUE AND WHITE BOWL OF MING PERIOD, LATE 16TH CENTURY 


Greenish blue tinge in glaze; figures in house, trees, scrolls and inner diaper border in light and 
dark blue 


B. LARGE BLUE AND WHITE DEEP PLATTER OF MING PERIOD 


Greenish tinge in glaze; decorations in many varying shades of blue with dark blue line work; 
shaped panels in border containing emblems and flowers; landscape in centre; Persian and 
Indian influence 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


“CHINA-MANIA” 5 


and from the middle of the century onward the stream of 
both Oriental and British porcelain imported reached such 
volume as to justify in great measure the assertion that 
the “‘history of the production of English china can be 
traced as easily in New England as in old England.” It 
would have been truer if the writer here quoted had said, 
“America” instead of “‘New England;” New England, 
though well supplied, had by no means a monopoly of the 
good things, for much of the best china, both Oriental and 
British, was to be found in Philadelphia, New York and 
the South. There was an especially large quantity in 
Philadelphia and its neighbourhood. 

We must bear in mind, however, that the early dis- 
tribution of chinaware in the American Colonies was by 
no means uniform. While the seaports and places within 
easy reach of them secured the coveted porcelain with 
little delay, and while the planters of the South and the 
manorial families of the Hudson lightly set aside the ob- 
stacles of distance and inconveniences of transportation to 
obtain any luxuries they wished, in the ordinary run of 
events the generality of people who lived in the less 
accessible portions of the country did not acquire very 
much chinaware until a somewhat later date than the 
more favoured folk who enjoyed ready communication 
with the shipping centres. For example, it was not until 
1757 that “Maple Grove” was built at Marlborough in 
Ulster County, in the Province of New York. Madame du 
Bois, the mistress of ‘‘ Maple Grove,”’ is said to have used 
the first complete dinner service of china in that neighbour- 
hood, “‘and curious housewives from the country round 
about came journeying thither to gaze with interest on 
this unwonted piece of luxury.”’ The du Bois dinner ser- 


6 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


vice, nevertheless, could scarcely have been the first in the 
county for polite, wealthy, luxury-loving Kingston-on- 
Hudson must surely have cultivated and gratified the 
taste for porcelain long ere this. At the same time to 
instance the differences in date of porcelain penetration 
in the Colonies, there are the dainty handleless teacups of 
Chinese porcelain from which William Penn sipped his 
Oolong when he visited some of the substantial Friends of 
Philadelphia in the latter part of the seventeenth century. 
These little teacups are still treasured by the descendants 
of the original owners. Fine china, too, doubtless formed 
part of the equipment of Pennsbury, in Bucks, for the 
Proprietary, despite Quaker principles, had an exquisite 
taste and was not averse to a degree of dignified courtliness 
that permitted him to make his journeys between Penns- 
bury and the infant City of Brotherly Love in a stately 
barge with its due complement of rowers. 

In France the popular vogue of porcelain as a utili- 
tarian household accessory, apart from its presence in the 
form of rare objets d’art, received its initial impetus from 
the dictates of stern necessity. On two occasions, once 
after the ruinous war of 1691, and, again, after the famine 
of 1709, Louis XIV, and the nobles of France were obliged 
to send their silver plate to the Mint in order to obtain 
badly needed funds in a period of economic tension. To 
take the place of melted and minted plate, table services 
of faience became the fashion, but it was a fashion fol- 
lowed under stress of compulsion and, directly circum- 
stances permitted, the noblesse got new plate again and 
abandoned the faience. No matter how beguiling its 
decoration, it was earthenware and they could not forget 
the quality of its body which, to their minds, seemed 


“CHINA-MANIA” 7 


rustic and lacking in elegance. They had not the English 
habit of tea-drinking and Chinese tea equipage made little 
appeal to them. Fine jars, vases and bowls of Oriental 
porcelain they could and did appreciate, but it was not 
until they could obtain dinner services of Western china, 
or Oriental services made after Western patterns, that 
they became really enthusiastic “‘China-maniacs” and 
willingly supplanted silver plate on their tables with 
choice porcelain. 

Although little or nothing was known in Europe of the 
technical aspect of making porcelain before the sixteenth 
century, when various attempts were made with moreor 
less success in Italy, to be followed by further successful 
essays in the latter part of the seventeenth century in 
France, and although the vogue of porcelain cannot be 
said to have become generally popular until the second 
half of the seventeenth century, when the rapid growth 
of trade with the Orient and the activities of the various 
East India Companies, English, Dutch and French, 
brought the elegancies and charms of chinaware within the 
reach of ordinarily well to do people, it must not be 
imagined that porcelain was unknown or unvalued in the 
West at a much earlier date. As a matter of fact, it was 
known and highly esteemed for centuries before it became 
subject of common interest and aspiration, but it was of 
such rare occurrence and so precious that few besides 
princes and kings, or the greatest nobles, could hope to 
possess a piece of it. 

Though it is not at all impossible that returning 
Crusaders may now and then have brought back with 
them from the East a bit of porcelain, just as they brought 
back spices, plants and fur-lined night-clothes, there is no 


8 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


definite and indubitable evidence on this score. We must 
be content to date the authentic history of Europe’s con- 
cern with Oriental porcelain from the year 1447. Then it 
was, so we are told by Mathieu de Coussy, the historian of 
Charles VII, that a letter addressed to the Sultan of 
“‘Babylon,”’ bespeaking favour towards French commerce 
in Levantine seaports, concludes with a request for a 
present of porcelain to be conveyed to the King of France 
by his ambassador :—“‘Si te mande par le dit Ambassadeur 
un présent a savoir trois escuelles de pourcelaine de Sinant, 
deux grands plats ouvertz de pourcelaine, deux touques 
verdes de pourcelaine, deux bouquetz de pourcelaine 
ouvré,’’ and then the customary polite salutations. The 
touque was a vessel or oval vase; the bouquet was a bottle 
with handles. What value was attached to porcelain may 
be imagined when it was thus solicited in a diplomatic 
communication as a present from one monarch to another. 
Thence onward we find instances, now and again, where the 
porcelains of the Orient were collected and highly prized by 
the kings and greatest nobles of Europe. An inventory of 
the year 1586 shews us that Francis J. of France had 
amongst his treasures ‘“‘ vases and dishes of porcelain, curi- 
ously wrought.’”’ We know, too, that the Medici had rare 
specimens of Eastern porcelain considerably prior to this, 
while it seems to have found its way to Venice at an even 
earlier date. In 1567 Queen Elizabeth possessed a much 
esteemed gift in the shape of a “‘ poringer of white porselyn 
and a cup of green porselyn.” Similar porringers and cups 
of porcelain were in the possession of some of the great 
nobles of England not long after, and in the Victoria and 
Albert Museum there is a splendid octagonal ewer of blue 
and white Chinese porcelain with exquisite silver mount- 


“CHINA-MANIA” 9 


ings bearing the hall-mark of the year 1585. Cairo was the 
Mediterranean port to which much of the precious porce- 
lain came overland from China, and thence, during the 
early period, it went through various channels to different 
parts of Europe where it was eagerly sought. 

In the Palace of Versailles there was a Chinese room 
where were kept the rarest pieces of porcelain presented to 
Louis XIV, or purchased by him. In 1686 this collection 
was much enriched by the magnificent porcelains pre- 
sented to the Grand Monarch by the King of Siam and 
delivered with great pomp by the Siamese ambassador, 
but long before this vases, jars, bowls and platters of 
Oriental porcelain had become familiar objects of decora- 
tion not only in the palaces and great houses of France but 
in England, Italy, Spain, Holland and other countries as 
well. In fact, ever since the beginning of the seventeenth 
century the increased development of trade with the 
- Orient had tremendously broadened the acquaintance 
with porcelain and stimulated appreciation of its value 
and beauty. As early as the year 1660 there were various 
merchants in Paris dealing especially in fine porcelain and 
they were well patronised by a clientéle of amateurs and 
collectors. 

In England, however, it was left for the introduction 
of tea, coffee and chocolate drinking to popularise and give 
impetus to the acquisition of china by the general public 
who had hitherto regarded possession of the precious sub- 
stance as peculiarly the privilege of the very wealthy. 
““Gombroon ware” gave place to “China ware”’ just a 
little before or about the time of this marked spread of 
popularity. Up to about 1640 porcelain was called 
“Gombroon ware” in England from the English trading 


10 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


post at Gombroon, on the Persian Gulf, whence the 
Chinese porcelains were sent to England; after that, 
when the East India Company had obtained a concession 
in Canton, the name for porcelain was gradually changed 
to “China ware.”’ And not a little of the early “China 
ware” brought to England consisted of the thin, handle- 
less teacups and the various objects associated with them, 
as already pointed out. Directly the passion for china was 
implanted in the popular taste—and a supply was forth- 
coming to meet the demand—it spread like wildfire. We 
hear of Mistress Nell Gwynne time and again going down 
to the docks and poking through the cargoes of newly 
arrived East Indiamen in order that she might have the 
first pick of anything that pleased her fancy. Doubtless 
she gathered in many a choice bit of porcelain on these 
piratical forestalling jaunts and her practice, we may be 
sure, not a few others followed as closely as they could. It 
needed only the example of Queen Mary a few years later 
to clinch the ardent desire for chinaware on every hand. 

To shew how the consuming taste for china continued 
unabated through the eighteenth century, and how it not 
only swayed all ranks of society but also aroused genuine 
enthusiasm amongst men as well as women, we may cite, 
an amusing incident that occurred about 1765. A ship, 
in whose cargo was a large quantity of Oriental china, 
went ashore on the Cornish coast. Presumably it had been 
intended to smuggle the china and escape the customs 
duties, for when the customs agents boarded the wreck, as 
soon as the weather permitted, the ship’s company had 
gone and taken all the papers with them. The chief cus- 
toms agent, finding some choice teapots and other pieces of 
china that he greatly admired, in the course of his exami- 


“CHINA-MANTA” II 


nation, and regarding them as a professional perquisite, 
stowed the whole lot in his capacious knee breeches 
preparatory to going over the side. As he was gingerly 
descending the ladder to get into the waiting dory, one of 
his comrades, impatient to be off, bade him make haste 
and playfully paddled him on the seat of the breeches with 
the blade of an oar—to the utter ruin of the concealed 
china and an astounding loud crash! 

Horace Walpole was no less enthusiastic a ‘‘China- 
maniac”’ than the Cornish customs gauger, but it is not 
recorded that he ever had such a disastrous disappoint- 
ment in his collecting efforts. He had a good collection of 
different sorts of china at Strawberry Hill and was always 
on the alert to add to it, soliciting his friends when they 
were travelling abroad to bring him back representative 
pieces from the various Continental china manufactories. 
In 1785 he writes to Sir Horace Mann, then in Italy :— 


“On reading over your ‘ Florentine Gazette,’ I observe that the 
Great Duke has a manufacture of porcelain. If any of it is sold, I 
should be glad if your nephew would bring me a single bit, a cup or 
other trifle, as a sample. I remember that, ages ago, there was a 
manufacture at Florence belonging to a Marquis Ginori, of which I 
wished for a piece, but could not procure one. The Grand Ducal 
may be more obtainable.” 


What he seems really to have had in mind was a piece 
of the Ginori china which he had previously failed to pro- 
cure, for the Ginori china had then attained great fame but 
there was no Grand Ducal manufacture. But it is not sur- 
prising to find Horace Walpole falling into confusion over 
such tiresome things as facts. The beauty of china, how- 
ever, strongly appealed to him and he was constantly 
seeking some new type to gratify his insatiable taste. And 


— 


12 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Horace Walpole’s attitude was a good index to the popu- 
lar passion for china, the ‘‘china-mania”’ that affected all 
ranks of society. 

America was not a whit behind England in appreci- 
ation of good china and eager desire to possess the best, 
whether of Oriental or European origin. It was no un- 
common thing to send special orders for complete dinner 
services to the East, and to wait patiently, or impatiently, 
for the execution of the commission with monograms or 
armorial bearings on each piece. The vast treasure of fine 
old china preserved all along the Atlantic seaboard bears 
eloquent witness not only to the prevalence of widespread 
“‘china-mania”’ in America, but also to the knowledge and 
discriminating taste of those who first secured this goodly 
heritage. When a ship laden with china was lured by the 
wreckers to destruction on the Barnegat sands, the 
“beach” china, as it was called, found a ready and profi- 
table market amongst purchasers who either knew not 
whence it came or, at any rate, asked “no questions for 
conscience sake.’’ But most of the china made its entrance 
in a regular manner and if anyone cares to examine the old 
shipping invoices they will gain an amazing but fairly 
accurate idea of the amount of porcelain it took to satisfy, 
even partially, the demands of American “‘china-mania.”’ 

With all the enormous demand for Oriental china, it 
was but natural that attempts should be made in the West 
to produce the same material, comparable with the 
Eastern prototypes in substance and decoration. These 
attempts began in Italy in the sixteenth century. More 
successful and enduring essays were made in France in the 
seventeenth century. The eighteenth century saw success- 
ful and permanent manufactories of china in England, 


““CHINA-MANITA” 13 


France, Italy,Germany and Austria. The earlier attempts 
resulted in what is known as “soft paste” porcelain, an 
approximation to the Oriental ware that has much to be 
said in its favour. During the eighteenth century, be- 
ginning with Saxony, European potters mastered the 
secrets of making “hard paste” or the so-called “true” 
porcelain of the same quality and characteristics as the 
Chinese. Thence onward both “soft paste” and “hard 
paste”’ china were made in the West, as well as the “‘bone 
china”? manufactured in England, a substance holding a 
middle ground between the “‘soft paste” and “hard paste”’ 
porcelains. In America some attempts to produce china 
were made in the eighteenth century, but though these 
attempts in one or two instances resulted favourably so far 
as the quality of the porcelain was concerned, they were 
not commercially successful and came to an untimely end. 
It was not until the early years of the nineteenth century 
that china was successfully and profitably produced on 
American soil. 


WHAT CHINAWARE IS 


HINA, or chinaware, is porcelain. It is not to be con- 

founded with pottery. Porcelain, though first evolved 

from pottery, is a thing beyond and apart from it. And 
pottery is not porcelain. 

It is quite true that porcelain is made by potters, and 
that a mechanical and decorative kinship exists; that its 
making is included within the scope of the fictile art along © 
with the making of pottery; and that the ultimate per- 
fection of porcelain’s manufacture was developed from 
the processes of pottery making. But porcelain is the 
highest, the most precious and the most highly organised 
expression of the potter’s art. 

And it is something still more than that. Porcelain is 
a thing separate and distinct from pottery, because there is 
a fundamental difference between the body of porcelain 
and the bodies of all the various sorts of pottery and 
earthenware. This radical difference is manifest through 
a combination of certain well-defined physical properties 
which porcelain has, and which the divers kinds of pottery 
and earthenware have not. 

Porcelain is called china, or chinaware, because China 
is the land of its origin and first manufacture. For cen- 
turies it was exported thence to other countries, until 
the secrets of its composition and manufacture were dis- 
covered. Even after that, and when the porcelain manu- 
factories of the West were competing with Chinese 
products for public favour, export of the “china of 
China” continued in great volume and still maintains an 


appreciable place in Oriental commerce. 
14 


WHAT CHINAWARE IS 15 


THE DISTINGUISHING PROPERTIES OF PORCELAIN 


First, it is important to remember that porcelain is 
composed of a clay that is burnt or fired at intense heat ina 
furnace; it is not a glass or vitreous substance that has 
been molten. 

There are two fundamental things to be considered 
in studying porcelain: (1) the body of which it consists or 
the paste, as it is called and, (2) the glaze, that is to say, 
the transparent vitreous or glassy substance with which 
the body or paste of the object, platter, cup, vase or what- 
ever it may be, is coated. When the paste or body is left 
unglazed, as is often the case with medallions, busts or 
small groups of sculpture, it is spoken of as biscuit. The 
term biscuit is also used to designate in general the pieces 
of porcelain, of whatever type, before they have been 
glazed. In the making of Chinese porcelain, there is, as 
a general rule, no “biscuit” stage; the fluid glaze is 
applied directly to the air-dried clay vessel and glaze and 
body are fired at one and the same operation. 

The two essentially distinctive qualities possessed by 
porcelain, the qualities that differentiate it from other 
products of the potter’s art, are (1) the whiteness of tts 
body, not merely on the surface but clean through the sub- 
stance, as it appears when broken; and (2) its greater or 
less degree of translucency where the body is at all thin. 
The edges of thin plates or saucers, thin lips, and mould- 
ings, when held against the light, should be translucent. 
Bowls, cups, and not seldom the whole body of plates and 
saucers should be translucent, when subjected to this test 
against the light, unless the body is of unusual thickness. 


16 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Oftentimes, too, when the edge of a bowl or plate is 
struck it will give forth a clear, bell-like note. 

In addition to the whiteness and translucence of 
porcelain, there is a peculiarly distinctive manner in which 
its glaze reflects the light, while to the touch the surface is 
smooth and soft as nacreous shell lining. 


THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF PORCELAIN 


Porcelain is classified as hard paste porcelain and soft 
paste porcelain. There is also a third porcelain composition 
known as bone porcelain, which occupies a more or less 
middle ground between the hard paste and soft paste types. 
It is the fashion in some quarters to refer to hard paste 
porcelain as true porcelain while soft paste porcelain and 
bone porcelain are termed artificial porcelains. However, 
all three have so much in common, and all three are so 
widely separated in every respect from other fictile bodies, 
that it seems much wiser, on the whole, much fairer, and 
much less provocative of confusion and misunderstand- 
ings to adopt the former classification of hard paste, soft 
paste and bone porcelain. 


HARD PASTE PORCELAIN 


Hard paste porcelain is distinguished by its hardness, 
its high resistance to heat, its resistance to acids and its 
impermeability to staining fluids, its close, compact texture, 
its complete vitrification, its translucence, the nature of its 
fracture when chipped or broken which is conchoidal or 
shell-like, very much like the fracture of a piece of flint, 
and its clear, bell-like note when sharply struck. When we 
speak of complete vitrification it means that the several 
elements in the composition of the porcelain body are so 


WHAT CHINAWARE IS 17 


thoroughly blended and compacted by the intense heat of 
the firing that the substance appears dense and absolutely 
homogeneous and is hard and smooth to the touch. This 
quality is readily apparent in the “‘biscuit,” at the points 
of fracture where glazed porcelain is chipped or broken, 
and on the bottom edges of foot-rims that are free from 
glaze. Complete vitrification also implies that, since the 
glaze, in the intense heat of the firing, has become virtually 
part and parcel of the body which it covers, it cannot be 
chipped off and separated from that body in flakes. 

The materials of which hard paste porcelain is made 
are, first, kaolin or china-clay, a white earthy substance 
which is a product of decomposition of the felspar con- 
tained in granitic rocks; and, second, petuntse or china- 
stone, which contains felspar, the silicate of alumina and 
potash, or sometimes soda. The felspar is closely allied 
with granite, or kindred rock, in a somewhat weathered 
condition and is frequently associated with more or less 
quartz and mica. The china-clay or kaolin is not fusible, 
even at the highest temperatures to which the kiln can be 
brought; the petuntse, china-stone or felspar 1s fusible at 
an high temperature. William Burton, one of the greatest 
living authorities on porcelain and porcelain technique, 
notes that “‘at the high temperature to which the porcelain 
is exposed during the firing a gradual chemical inter- 
change takes place between the various silicates compos- 
ing the mixture. The fusible silicates, such as the felspar 
and mica, begin to melt and attack the free silica and the 
kaolin, and when the changes are complete we get a dense, 
hard, white porcelain, quite translucent if sufficiently 
thin. . . . However intensely fired the body may be, 


it never becomes transparent or clear like a piece of glass, 
2 


18 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


for the glassy silicates that result from the fusion are 
penetrated through and through with opaque needles or 
rod-like crystallites.’’ The deflections and diffusion of the 
rays of light through this vitreous fused body produce the 
soft translucence so highly prized in fine porcelain. In 
other words, the melting of the fusible china-stone in 
the kiln to a glassy substance that holds the non-fusible 
china-clay or kaolin in suspension produces the marked 
translucent and vitreous character of hard paste porcelain. 
The china-clay or kaolin has been aptly likened to the 
bones of the porcelain body, while the fusible china-stone - 
is the flesh. To carry the simile one step further, the glaze 
may be likened to the skin. 

All hard paste porcelain has not a body or paste of 
identically the same composition. The character depends 
upon the proportions of china-clay or kaolin, on the one 
hand, and of petuntse or felspar, on the other, that enter 
into the mixture before it is shaped and fired. ‘The larger 
the amount of kaolin, the harder and more infusible the 
finished porcelain. The great plasticity of the clay mix- 
ture when it contains an high percentage of kaolin renders 
the utmost care necessary to avoid mishaps before drying 
and firing. As much as 65 per cent. of kaolin can be used 
in the mixture. When there is an high percentage of 
kaolin, the resulting porcelain is said to be of ‘‘severe” 
type; when the percentage is much lower the porcelain is 
said to be “‘mild.” To the “‘severe” type belongs much 
of the earlier hard paste porcelain of Sévres and most of 
the German porcelain. China of this type may possess 
admirable utilitarian qualities, but as a substance it is apt 
to be harsh to the sight and cold and hard to the touch. 
The china of China belongs to the “mild” type, and so 


WHAT CHINAWARE IS 19 


does much of the porcelain made at Sévres in recent years. 
Irrespective of decoration, the mild porcelain is much more 
delightful to see and more sympathetic to the touch. In 
every way it is far more mellow and satisfactory. The 
reader can have no better object lesson in this respect 
than by comparing a piece of German porcelain with a 
piece of Chinese; the latter is mellow, lovable and seduc- 
tive, the former is brutally hard and unsympathetic. 
Incidentally, the severe porcelain does not lend itself 
nearly so kindly to decoration as does the milder type. 


SOFT PASTE PORCELAIN 


Soft paste porcelain is sometimes called artificial 
porcelain because some of the materials entering into its 
composition were substitutes for the materials used in the 
making of Oriental porcelain which, from the very outset, 
was the acknowledged model for imitation. These sub- 
stitutes were arrived at as a result of conjectures regarding 
the nature of Oriental china and experiments on the part 
of European porcelain pioneers to approximate the 
qualities displayed by Oriental models. 

Soft paste porcelain is distinguished from hard paste 
porcelain by the softer whiteness of its body, sometimes 
distinctly creamy in tone, and by its usually greater 
translucence, though whiteness and translucence are 
qualities common to all porcelain. It is also distinguished 
by the nature of its fracture, when chipped or broken; the 
unglazed portion of the body thus exposed is granular and 
chalky. The break or chip, too, is apt to be straight and 
not conchoidal or flint-like as in the case of hard paste 
porcelain. The substance, furthermore, is much softer and 
yields readily to filing. Sometimes the translucence of 


20 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


soft paste porcelain is slightly tinged with yellow. Soft 
paste porcelain has not as great resistance to heat as that 
possessed by hard paste china. 

The materials entering into the composition of soft 
paste china are, first, a white-firing clay, and, second, a 
fusible silicate such as a frit of glass, sand or broken and 
pulverised china. When deposits of kaolin were dis- 
covered in Europe, the kaolin was made use of. 

Most of the early European china was soft paste 
porcelain and, in nearly all cases it possesses a rarely 
mellow quality that much of the hard paste china totally 
lacks. The loveliest and most highly prized old Sévres 
china was all of soft paste. 

In the process of firing in the kiln the artificial sili- 
cates melt, envelope and partly dissolve the clay so that, 
as Burton points out, “again a material is obtained in 
which a clear transparent base holds in suspension white 
and opaque particles, and such substances consequently 
exhibit something of the soft translucence that distin- 
guishes the porcelains as a class.” 


BONE PORCELAIN 


Bone porcelain, as noted before, may be said to hold a 
middle ground between hard paste and soft paste porce- 
lain, representing, so to speak, a compromise between 
them. The materials of which the body or paste consists 
are mainly kaolin, felspar, petuntse or china-stone— 
whichever name you choose to apply to it—and, thirdly, 
a quantity of bone-ash. This composition was discovered 
and the process developed in England from about 1750 
onward. As Burton aptly points out, ““we may regard 
English bone-porcelain, so far as the body of the ware is 


PLATE 6 


CELADON VASE, SEA-GREEN GLAZE 


Engraved underglaze flowing pattern of peonies above a band of 
water-leaves at the base 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 7 


uojsUISUIyY YANOS ‘uNssnpY JIaq[y Pue eIIOJOIA 94} JO AsoqyInod 


EEE EEE ee ee 


IgonNes JO 914U90 Ul Yeu pue sjzeq aniq 
dAy fonjq JO Sepeys [e1oAas UI Speoay aa-nol 


Joljel Ul WOTJELIOOIpP JO Jap10q :ajsed oY} Ul UOTZeIOOAp UleIB-99TY 
wosso[q snunid ym ‘UsTyony joolem 941 M YOM OIF UIOD BUIDV[I9}UI YIM paoieid saptg WaAOAVS 
dnd .a@NIHO ad ONWTE, 9 dnO €@LIHM ANV 4NTA ‘@ GNV dNO @LIHM ANV GNTa *V 


PLATE 8 


BLUE AND WHITE COVERED JAR 


Deep bluecrackled ground, with large crackles, the blossoms and stems of the prunus 
decoration reserved in white 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 9 


VASE OF THE SO-CALLED “‘BATAVIAN” WARE : 


Glaze of slightly greenish tinge; body a yellowish brown or “‘dead-leaf’’ brown with 
four circular reserved white panels containing peony and leaf decoration in underglaze 
blue; neck tall with Persian pomegranate or flame pattern in underglaze blue 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


WHAT CHINAWARE IS 21 


concerned, as a true porcelain paste which has been 
rendered more fusible by the addition of a large pro- 
portion of calcium phosphate in the form of bone-ash.”’ 

In its distinguishing qualities bone porcelain likewise 
occupies an intermediate position between the hard paste 
or natural felspathic porcelains, on the one hand, and the 
soft paste or artificial glassy porcelains, on the other. It is 
not generally so white as the hard paste, but more white 
than the soft paste. Also, it is not quite so hard, nor so 
impermeable to the action of acid or staining fluids, as the 
hard paste body, but it is harder and less permeable than 
the soft paste. Although it holds comparatively a middle 
ground between the two, yet in its qualities it somewhat 
more closely resembles the hard paste. In its fracture it is 
more akin to the hard than to the soft paste. It has the 
durability of the hard paste and the softer quality of the 
soft paste glaze. 


THE MAKING OF CHINAWARE 


F the reader wishes to follow up in detail all the inti- 
mate minutize of porcelain manufacture, and to be- 
come acquainted with all the technical processes, the 
books noted in the bibliography at the end of the volume 
had best be consulted. As we are chiefly concerned here 
with the aspect of the finished product, it must suffice to 
point out a few of the salient facts connected with the 
transformation from the original elements to the ultimate 
stages of decoration. 

After the materials are finely ground, washed and 
filtered, they are mixed in the desired proportions and the 
plastic clay is thoroughly worked and kneaded to ensure 
uniformity of texture. The clay may, perhaps, be “short” 
and inclined to crumble, or it may be highly plastic and 
‘*fat,’? as is apt to be the case when there is present in the 
mixture an high percentage of kaolin. The nature of the 
clay and its degree of plasticity necessarily somewhat 
determine the methods by which the articles to be made 
are shaped. 

A lump of clay may be ‘“‘thrown”’ on the potter’s 
wheel and gradually shaped by the manipulation of the 
potter’s thumbs and fingers as the wheel revolves. This 
method implies an object of circular form and a proper 
degree of plasticity on the part of the clay. Again, ob- 
jects may be moulded, the clay being pressed firmly into 
moulds of the desired shape. Fluted articles, articles with 
raised patterns or perforations, and such members as the 
handles of cups, the handles and spouts of teapots, and 


22 


THE MAKING OF CHINAWARE 4s) 


the handles and knobs of tureens and vegetable dishes 
must all be moulded as well as lids, the generality of 
plates, all plates and platters of form other than circular 
and, as a rule, most articles with the exception of such 
jars, bowls and vases of circular form as can be shaped on 
the potter’s wheel. Statuettes and figures, of course, are 
moulded, unless shaped by the casting process which, 
however, was unknown in the East. Handles, spouts, 
knobs and embellishments in high relief, such as figures 
and flowers, are moulded separately and then attached in 
their proper places with “‘slip.” “Slip” is a fluid mixture 
of the clay body, of a thick cream-like consistency. After 
the separately moulded members are attached in their 
proper places, the articles are set away to dry until the 
time comes for them to be fired. Many objects of elabo- 
rate and complex shape have to be built up of a number 
of separately moulded parts. 

In casting porcelain a thick “slip”? is poured into a 
plaster-of-Paris mould. ‘The water is absorbed or drained 
off, and when the clay has dried and hardened to the right 
extent to hold its shape, the plaster mould is removed. 

When the ware has been carefully dried, it is fired. 
In China it was customary, with a great deal of the porce- 
lain, to apply the fluid glaze, directly to the surface of the 
air-dried object and then subject it to only one firing at 
intense heat. Much hard paste porcelain in Europe, how- 
ever, had a preliminary firing at a dull to full red-heat. 
This ‘‘half baked ware”? was afterwards glazed and sub- 
jected to a firing at the full temperature necessary, which 
served to make the glaze become virtually part and parcel 
of the body. In England the bone pastes were first fired 
at the most intense heat. Afterwards they were glazed 


24 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


and fired only to a temperature sufficient to melt the 
glaze and make it adhere inseparably to the body. The 
same method was followed for firing and glazing soft 
paste porcelains. 

With the exception of underglaze colours, all col- 
oured decoration with enamel colours and all gilding are 
applied after the article has been through its second or 
glazing firing and these overglaze enamels and gilding 
must be fixed by an additional firing at little more than a 
clear red heat, a temperature much lower than is needed 
to melt the glaze. 


THE GLAZE 


The term ‘‘glaze”’ is really only another form of the 
word ‘‘glass,” and there is not a great deal of difference in 
chemical composition between the glaze on the surface of 
china and the glass which we daily see and handle. 

The glaze is a very important factor, not only so far 
as the aspect of porcelain is concerned, but also as one of 
the cardinal items of identification. There are many 
variations of glazing and some of these are peculiar to 
certain kinds of china; all of them add their quota of 
individuality and distinction to the ware of which they 
form the skin. The different glazes vary in their quality 
which the sense of touch distinguishes as well as in the 
appearance they reveal to the sight. 

The glaze is transparent and ordinarily colourless, 
or almost altogether so, so that the white body or paste be- 
neath is perfectly visible. In some of the early Chinese por- 
celains the decoration is effected by the use of one or more 
coloured glazes, but such glazes are the exception rather 
than the rule. In still other cases the glaze, although per- 


PLATE 10 


LARGE CHINESE “IMARI” PLATTER 


Glaze of distinct bluish tinge; flowing pattern of peonies, chrysanthemums and Japanese ‘“brocade”’ 
motifs in blue, red and gold 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


THE MAKING OF CHINAWARE 25 


fectly transparent, is slightly tinged with a greenish, 
bluish or yellowish tint which, whether intentional or not, 
often enhances the beauty of the general effect. In some 
of the old Chinese blue and white porcelain the glaze has a 
slight bluish tinge which acts as a pleasant bond between 
the white of the body and the blue of the decoration. 

In China the glaze was made of the pure petuntse or 
china-stone, sometimes softened with a little lime, and was 
applied in a thin fluid state to the air-dried but still 
unfired objects. They were then fired at an intense heat 
and finished at one firing, the glaze becoming thoroughly 
incorporated with the body. In Europe and Japan it was 
customary to fire the pieces first at a moderate heat of 
between 600 and goo degrees Centigrade. Afterwards 
they were covered with the coating of glaze and subjected 
to a second firing at the full temperature of from 1350 to 
1500 degrees Centigrade, the heat required by hard paste 
porcelain. Thus the porcelainisation of the body and the 
fusion of the glaze took place simultaneously. 

An accurate mental picture explanatory of this proc- 
ess is most happily conveyed by Burton, in his Porcelain: 
Its Nature, Art and Manufacture. He says:— 


“Tt will be readily conceived that under such circumstances the 
melting glaze, containing fusible ingredients similar to those used in 
the body, will also attack and partly dissolve the outer layer of the 
body substance, and we may picture to ourselves a piece of glazed 
porcelain of the first class as consisting of many layers of different 
silicates, some of them of excessive thinness and none of them sharply 
defined, ranging from the outer skin of the glaze, which in perfect 
pieces is always the clearest, down to the body itself, which is a felted 
mass of minute crystalline rods imbedded in a more glassy substance. 
Only by forming some such mental picture, which is in harmony 
with the knowledge obtained by a microscopical examination of thin 


26 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


slices of the material, can we understand where the distinctive beauty 
of porcelain resides. When light falls upon a piece of true porcelain 
it penetrates these successive layers, which, so to speak, filter, soften 
and subdue it, so that the lowest depths shimmer and glisten with the 
light they reflect to the observer’s eye through the successive envel- 
opes of more translucent substance.” 


The process of glazing was different for the soft paste 
or glassy porcelains and for bone porcelain. The unglazed 
articles were fired up to a temperature of I100 to II50 
degrees Centigrade. They were then coated with a glaze 
that was virtually a glass, rich in lead oxide or borax, and 
subjected to a second firing, at about 1000 degrees Centi- 
grade, a temperature sufficient to melt and fuse the glaze. 
Of such glazes Burton observes :— 


“‘Glazes made in this way are always thinner, more transparent 
and brilliant, more ‘glassy,’ in a word, than those in the first class 
for hard paste porcelain, and from their nature and method of forma- 
tion they lack the subtle depth and unctuous richness of the latter, 
because they affect the light less as it passes through them.” 


THE DECORATION 


China may be decorated in two ways. First, the 
decoration may be contained in the body of the piece itself 
and consist of engraving, embossing, perforations or fret- 
work, or of applied reliefs. All of these devices are per- 
fected before glazing. This may be called decoration in 
the white. Second, the decoration may be accomplished 
by means of colours or gilding. 

These methods may be employed singly or in combi- 
nation. 

DECORATION IN THE WuitTE.—Decoration in the 
white is effected by engraving or incising patterns in the 


THE MAKING OF CHINAWARE ry 


body of an article before it is fired, or the patterns may be 
impressed by the mould in which the article is first shaped. 
The engraving or incising process is exemplified in such 
pieces as the Oriental ware decorated with the rice-grain 
motifs. When patterns are embossed in low relief, they 
are made by the moulds or, when higher relief is desired, 
patterns are produced by painting with thick ‘“‘slip” (a 
thick fluid form of the clay) upon the surface of the 
previously air-dried article. When the slip painting, in 
turn, has dried, the article is ready for glazing and firing. 
Sometimes the piece of porcelain is first covered with col- 
oured glaze and fired, and then painted with white slip, 
thus necessitating a second glazing and firing. In certain 
cases these slip painted reliefs are as delicate as lacework. 
Examples of the low embossed or raised patterns are to be 
found in the basket work now and again found on the rims 
of plates. Perforations or fretwork, in such instances as 
plate rims, fruit baskets and the old Chinese porcelain 
lanthorns, often supply a distinctive decoration. Sepa- 
rately moulded reliefs, such as rosettes for the intersections 
of fretwork, sprigs, flowers and the various sorts of figures 
employed as knobs and handles are attached with slip to 
the body of the piece before glazing. In much of the old 
Chinese Fuchien porcelain these moulded decorations in 
the white are very beautiful and not infrequently of an 
elaborate nature. 

DECORATION IN CoLouR AND Gop. The colours 
used in decorating china are of two sorts, the underglaze 
colours applied before glazing and firing, and the enamel 
colours and gold applied after glazing. Enamel colours 
and gold thus applied require a second firing to make 
them fuse with the glaze and become permanent. 


28 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


The most substantial and reliable underglaze colour 
is blue, made from cobalt. In the old blue and white ware 
of China the decorations were painted with this blue on 
the air-dried bodies of the articles which were subsequently 
glazed and fired. At a comparatively early date the 
Chinese developed also an underglaze red. This was dif- 
ficult to produce, however, and the secret of it was after- 
wards lost. Another underglaze red followed later but was 
never nearly so much used as the blue. Underglaze blue was 
likewise commonly employed by the European makers of 
porcelain. An underglaze rose was invented in England 
in the eighteenth century. Foreign potters frequently 
speak of it as “English pink,’’ and it has been very ex- 
tensively used. Somewhat later a few other underglaze 
colours were developed on the Continent and, about the 
beginning of the nineteenth century, the range of these 
colours was increased by a good underglaze green and 
some other colours that were not so pleasing. After all is 
said and done, blue was the one reliable and serviceable 
underglaze colour that could always be depended upon 
and was almost exclusively used, although in many cases 
overglaze blues likewise occurred. 

The overglaze enamels were easy to manipulate and 
remarkably varied effects were produced with a com- 
paratively limited palette, although by the eighteenth 
century the Chinese had devised an adequate chromatic 
range much ampler than the colour resources at their 
command in earlier times. In Europe, too, especially in 
France, during the eighteenth century, the colour possi- 
bilities were greatly enriched. Enamel colours on the 
glaze of hard paste porcelain often stand up perceptibly 
from the surface of the glaze, for the glaze is so hard that 


THE MAKING OF CHINAWARE 29 


the enamel colours, which require a comparatively low 
temperature for their firing, do not thoroughly fuse with 
it. On the other hand, enamel colours applied over the 
glaze of soft paste porcelain very often melt into and 
become thoroughly incorporated with it so that their 
presence above the surface of the glaze is neither visible 
to the eye nor palpable to the touch and you feel nothing 
but the soft glossy coating of glaze. This absorption of 
the enamel colours by the glaze both protects them and 
adds to their lustre. 

The third way of applying colour decoration to 
china is by the use of coloured glazes, previously men- 
tioned. The glaze may be of one colour over the whole of a 
piece, as in the case of the old Chinese Celadon ware, or 
glazes of several different colours may be applied to dif- 
ferent parts of the same article. This method was used 
in adorning some of the old Chinese wares. In some cases a 
piece covered with a single-coloured glaze was further 
embellished with designs painted upon its surface in 
enamel colours. 


GENERAL ADVICE TO THE STUDENT 
OF CHINAWARE 


T has been pointed out in the Foreword that there are 
five factors to keep in mind when judging a piece of 
china—(1) the body or paste of which it is made; (2) the 
glaze that covers its surface; (3) the kind of article and its 
contour; (4) the manner of its decoration; and (5) the 
mark affixed by its maker. The latter is often lacking as 
there are a great many pieces of old china that are alto- 
gether unmarked. 

In the foregoing section, on the making of chinaware, 
the properties of the paste or body and the nature of the 
glaze have been explained. It is necessary to state very 
emphatically, however, that the reader cannot expect to 
gain a sufficient and accurate knowledge of china merely 
from books. It is absolutely essential to see and to compare 
the various sorts in order to acquire and cultivate a proper 
appreciation of the outstanding characteristics that dis- 
tinguish one kind from another. 

Language alone is inadequate to describe and fully 
define all the subtle variations of quality, colour and tex- 
ture that enter into consideration and cannot be disre- 
garded. The statement of facts must be complemented by 
sight and touch, or at any rate by sight, when it is not 
possible to handle and feel of the actual objects. The 
habit of close, critical observation must be encouraged. 

The English language is fully as capable as any other 
—and more capable than most—of expressing the nice 
differences of quality that appear in the paste, the glaze 

30 


GENERAL ADVICE TO THE STUDENT 31 


and the colour of the several sorts of china. Nevertheless, 
there are many variations quite perceptible to the eye 
that cannot be adequately described in words, for no 
matter how carefully weighed or meticulously couched 
the phraseology may be, you can never be sure that the 
same words or expressions are going to convey identically 
the same impressions to two different minds. 

For example, we may be obliged to describe the pastes 
of two different kinds of china as white and the glazes as 
transparent. ‘There are no other terms by which to des- 
ignate them. Furthermore, both whites may be of a 
creamy tone. The term “creamy white” as accurately 
describes one as the other, so far as words can convey a 
definitely exact idea, and yet when we see examples of the 
two pastes side by side we can readily distinguish a dif- 
ference between one “creamy white” and the other 
“creamy white.” The one “creamy white” is just as 
much “creamy white”’ as the other and just as much 
entitled to the term. The only way in which these dif- 
ferences can be expressed verbally—and it is an insuf- 
ficient and clumsy way, at best—is to establish some basis 
of comparison and to say that the paste of A is not so 
creamy white as the creamy white paste of B. This method 
must needs be purely arbitrary, and the arbitrarily chosen 
norm of comparison cannot be a constant, invariable 
quantity, definitely fixed with mathematical exactitude, 
but will inevitably vary according to each individual 
conception. 

It is plain, therefore, that acquaintance and famil- 
iarity by sight, and acquaintance and familiarity by 
touch also if it be possible, must accompany and comple- 
ment the knowledge conveyed verbally. The verbal de- 


32 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


scriptions constitute an indispensable guide and an equally 
indispensable check; from the visual and tactual acquaint- 
ance comes the real knowledge and likewise the real 
pleasure. | 

This intimate acquaintance it is not hard to gain. 
Outside of one’s own personal possessions in the way of 
china, there is always the opportunity to inspect and study 
the china treasures of one’s friends, who are almost always 
pleased at the interest and appreciation manifested; there 
are the antique shops where you are at liberty to scruti- 
nise as closely as you will; and, above all, there are the 
museums whose collections exist for the purpose of being 
studied. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance 
of using the opportunities provided by the museums. You 
rarely have the chance to touch and handle the museum 
specimens, it is true, but they are generally well displayed 
for the purpose of close inspection; they usually have the 
advantage of indubitable authenticity and _ therefore 
serve as representative and trustworthy standards of 
comparison; and, finally, there are the curators to give 
such additional information regarding the specimens as 
you may require. This help they are there to give. It is a 
part of their duty, and a duty that is almost always 
cheerfully and graciously discharged. 

In the matter of colour and methods of decoration, 
and likewise in the matter of characteristic contours, a 
study of the museum specimens will be quite as helpful as 
it is in the particulars of paste and glaze. With respect to 
colours, modes of decoration and characteristic contours 
the experience you gather with keen observation from the 
wares in antique shops and amongst the possessions of 


GENERAL ADVICE TO THE STUDENT 43 


your friends will be even more broadening than the results 
of museum study, for the museums, no matter how large 
and complete their collections may be, cannot be expected 
to display every type of every phase of chinaware ever 
produced. Such a display would be manifestly impossible. 
What they aim to do is to shew in each instance the essen- 
tial characteristics. Having grasped these essential char- 
acteristics, it is part of the fascination and stimulus of 
chinaware study to detect them, trace them and collate 
them in their manifold combinations which you are 
certain to meet with from time to time. 

The marks of chinaware are often the least reliable 
sources of identification. While the marks, in many cases, 
may be accepted as trustworthy, there are many other 
instances in which they are positively deceptive. Time 
and time again the marks were deliberately forged, or 
else made so closely to resemble the marks found on the 
products of some other factory that there was obviously 
an intent, on the part of the makers, to deceive the public. 
Then, again, not a few marks have been applied at some 
period long subsequent to the date of manufacture. The 
question of authenticity of marks will be dealt with in 
each of the ensuing sections. 

Both the fashioning and decorating of china are pre- 
eminently imitative arts. Many of the early Chinese 
shapes were imitated from earlier bronze vessels. When 
china began to be made in the West, Chinese shapes were 
universally imitated. One factory imitated another in its 
wares. And just so was imitation carried on in endless 
ways throughout the practice of the whole art. It was 
precisely the same with decoration. Chinese types were 
imitated in Japan, and when any decorator initiated a new 

3 


34 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


method in Japan his style was copied in China. ‘The West 
copied both with avidity, and when the decorators of one 
European factory originated something different from 
what had been done before, it was not long before most of 
the other factories were putting forth products decorated 
in almost exactly the same manner. 

Despite this promiscuous imitation, certain general 
types of decoration became so to speak crystallised and 
their pronounced characteristics were unmistakable 
whether the pieces of porcelain on which they appeared 
were made in China or Japan, Bow or Worcester, Chantilly 
or Dresden. Very often there was just enough of the ele- 
ment of individual or local interpretation to add a flavour 
of varied interest without destroying or obscuring the 
identity of the mode. The more important of these 
families of decoration that occur almost universally will 
be recognised in the key-plate of decorative types at the 
beginning of the volume. Other types, less conspicuous 
perhaps but none the less well-defined, are noted here and 
there with references to examples on which they occur. 

The contours of china objects are of great significance, 
more, indeed, than many people imagine. Quite apart 
from the skillful technique required for producing shapes 
of a certain description and the mastery of the art implied 
in their successful achievement, the contours indicate 
sundry other things. For instance, plates with rims, 
although they may have been made in China, were un- 
questionably made for export to the West. The Chinese 
prefer plates or dishes of a modified or flat bowl contour 
devoid of rims. Again, there are certain ‘national tastes 
and preferences betrayed in the shapes of chinaware, 
some shapes being peculiarly characteristic of France and 


GENERAL ADVICE TO THE STUDENT 3 


others just as peculiarly characteristic of England while, 
of course, there are numerous contours unmistakably 
Chinese which have persisted through the centuries and in- 
spired numberless derivations in the West (v. Figs. rand 2). 

But there is still another aspect of contour that 
ought not to be overlooked. While there are many shapes 
that have been repeated indefinitely from early times and 
continue to-day in unabated popularity, nevertheless the 
prevailing trend of “‘collective’’ contour, as exemplified 
by a number of different pieces of any one date, plainly 
reflects the design tendencies that made themselves felt 
everywhere in every branch of art at different well defined 
periods. 

If we care to make a few comparisons, we can easily 
see these successive design influences manifested in china 
contours—the swelling rotundity and symmetrical vigour 
of the Baroque age, when the making of European porce- 
lain was first established upon a permanent basis; the 
sinuous whimsicalities and polished graces of the Rococo 
period; the restraint and delicacy of the Neo-Classic 
dominance; and, finally, the downright severity and bold 
insistence of the later Neo-Grec era. (Plate 2). 

Although shapes of early date may enjoy permanent 
favour—such, for instance, as various types of teapots 
(Plate 2)—so that we cannot assume that they were made 
at this or that period merely on account of their contour, 
we do know, however, that certain shapes first made their 
appearance at certain epochs and not only enjoyed uni- 
versal contemporary popularity but were also embodi- 
ments of the spirit of design dominant at that time. 
As striking instances of this sort of thing, the Ginori 
tureen (Plate 36, B), with oval body and straight, tapering 


36 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


fluted legs clearly betokens the Neo-Classic feeling that 
pervaded every field of design in the latter part of the 
eighteenth century; the Derby teapot (Plate 2, D), has a 
shape eloquent of Neo-Grec supremacy and echoes the 
contour of silver plate made at the period; the Mennecy 
vase (Plate 2, J), could not have been designed before the 
Rococo influence of Louis XV’s reign was paramount; 
and the Saint Cloud vase (Plate 44, A), is plainly indica- 
tive of Baroque inspiration in the background of its 
maker’s mind. And so it goes throughout the whole 
history of chinaware. The key-plate (Plate 2), of repre- 
sentative period contours, at the beginning of the volume, 
affords a basis for illuminating comparisons on this score. 
Finally, a word of advice about acquiring china. Ifa 
piece appeals to you by the quality of its shape and the 
beauty of its decoration, and if you can get it at a fair 
price, it is worth buying for the joy and satisfaction it will 
give you to possess it. Study its characteristics and settle 
its identification, if there is any doubt in your mind about 
its origin, at your leisure. On the other hand, if you are 
seeking a specimen of some particular make and date, and 
if you are not fully satisfied that the piece is what it more 
or less appears to be, have no hesitation in consulting a 
museum curator about it and settling the doubt in that 
manner. A museum curator of ceramics who knows his 
subject, and is thoroughly conversant with all the niceties 
of paste and glaze, will be able to give you an unbiassed 
attribution and, in most cases, will do so quite cheerfully. 
This is a precaution that is worth taking, especially if the 
piece in question happens to be of a sort much sought after 
and likely to command an high price. After all, however, 


PLATE 11 


A. EIGHT-SIDED BLUE AND WHITE BOWL OF K’ANG HSI REIGN 
(1662-1722) 


Glaze of slight bluish tinge; decoration in many shades of blue 


B. DEEP BLUE AND WHITE PLATE OF LATE MING PERIOD 


Glaze of very pale bluish tinge; decoration in several shades of greyish blue out- 
lined in dark blue; ‘‘long Eliza’”’ and house scene in centre; waved or shaped rim 
and border of shaped panels containing flowers and emblems 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


PLATE 12 


ulnasnyw Ysiilig ey} jo Asoqinod 


sain3y BuIulejuoO sjeaued poeAtesal INOj YM 
WIII [[OLOS-19MOPY Y}M otjuUs0 AuOad ‘“ wit peiedetp tadvospue] pejysedsns ‘asieds YIM 91]U90 UI SoINSI “VY 


WII 0} 9dpe UMOIG JYBI] :on{q Alep jo sapeys OM} pue on[q JYBI] JO SOpeys OA4 Ul UOTZVIOOSP +aBUT} YSIN[ Jo ezes tedoing 0} 410dxe 10} SUI peolg 
, (AOINdd ONIHO) SALWI1d aLTHM AUNV ANId AUNLNAO HINAALHOIA ATAVA OML 


PLATE 13 


OUT] ‘UOI[IWI9A puv yoTOIA ‘ayous ‘MoOTIAA ated 
INO} Y}IM posoderp-WNWsyyuesAIYo WII opIsur 


‘ 


wnesnyw Ystytig eq} jo Asajinodg 


98UT} YStuse13 JY SI[S Jo zea !yoeTq ul YOM 
‘ua013 JO SapeYS [e1aAVs Ul UOI}e1OOBp ‘sule[quie SuruIe 
SOPIS BUCO] UO SIOTIOJUI PUB SBaINSY ‘saps JOYS INO} puv sapis BuO] Ino 


saps J10Ys UO suOoTydrIIOSUT 


‘ 


(ZZL1-Z99T) TMOG ISH DNV. GAdCIS-LHDIF 


yuoo septs joys uO sjeued paAsasol a}IYyM 


PLATE 14 


EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (CH’ING PERIOD) LARGE CIRCULAR 
PLATTE RAOR FRAY, 


Raised rim; central molif of peonies, twigs and birds, shewing Kakiyemon influence, 

surrounded by border of jou-ee heads; rim diapered with four reserved panels containing 

lobsters and fishes; decoration in green, vermilion, mauve and pale yellow, line work black, 
and touches of gold on red flowers; glaze slightly bluish 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


GENERAL ADVICE TO THE STUDENT 47 


while there is a certain satisfaction in acquiring a piece of 
highly-prized ware, prized by the professional connoisseur 
because of its origin and rarity, there is infinitely more 
satisfaction to the average person in getting something 
that appeals because of the intrinsic beauties it embodies. 
Acquaintance with and appreciation of the varied and 
beautiful qualities to be found in chinaware, it is one of the 
prime objects of this volume to stimulate. 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND 
THE WEST 


THE CHINAWARE OF CHINA 
HISTORY 


O China, the original source and home of chinaware, 

we naturally turn first in our survey of the porcelain 

art. Without knowing something of the story of china- 

making in the Celestial Empire, we cannot understand 

what took place in the development and fashioning of 
porcelain in the Western world. 

In this section keen collectors of very old and rare 
Chinese and Japanese porcelains, and the habitual fre- 
quenters of museums, will miss not a few varieties of 
Oriental china with which they are more or less familiar. 
These varieties are omitted from detailed consideration 
and likewise from the scheme of illustration not through 
oversight, intentional slight nor any lacking appreciation 
of their manifold excellence, but because of their rarity 
and the great difficulty or unlikelihood of their acquisition 
by the average person. Furthermore, setting aside the 
very early wares of rare occurrence, certain choice products 
of later date were, and still are, eagerly sought after by 
the Chinese and jealously retained in China so that they 
almost never find their way out of the country. At the 
same time, vast quantities of Chinese porcelain, from the 
seventeenth century onward were made expressly for 
export. These “‘export wares”’ were those that most pro- 


foundly influenced the porcelain of the Western world and 
38 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST = 39 


those, likewise, that have always been most familiar to 
Occidentals. It seems wiser, therefore, to leave the vir- 
tually unattainable sorts to special treatises and to con- 
centrate attention chiefly on those kinds of Oriental 
china more commonly met with and more possible of 
acquisition. 

Although we are told in some quarters that the manu- 
facture of porcelain began in China before the Christian 
era, there are no authentic specimens known of earlier date 
than those produced during the period of the Sung Dy- 
nasty (960-1279, A.D.), and these are extremely rare, 
although imitations and reproductions are by no means 
uncommon. 

In surveying the history of Chinese porcelain, it is 
necessary to keep in mind the chief periods into which it 
falls under the various successive imperial dynasties. 
The following table of dynasties and dates will prove 
useful as a memory peg and for general reference. 


SUNG DYNASTY, 960-1279 

Yuan or Moncotu pynasty, 1280-1367 

Minc pDYNAsTY, 1368-1643 

Cu’1nc (Tsinc) on Mancuu pywnasty, 1644—Fall of Empire in 


Modern ‘Times 
Emperors of the Ming Dynasty 
NE ey sy ond es yoo ws eke 1368-1399 
LS A a 1399-1403 
NTR iG a. cf dg/ Sinko lee /ule Sie cle e's 1403-1425 
ee RO ee inc cis icf ogi aie aie's do) 0 Bos 1425-1426 
ye oie alt g wid nib xiaued 1426-1436 
ale hn! sia ipiaisis wicien ssa et ek 0 1436-1450 
A SS oc 5 moon ws aime tow he 8b 8 1450-1457 


Ey iets eee sek eee aes oh ants 1457-1465 


40 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Chicng Pita’ 4 oc. nce ee ee es 1465-1488 
Puna oa i hence eee ene 1488-1506 
Sd A pe rg erm Shae mise CBU ES 1506-1522 
ns Chie ok, os ea ee iat ee 1522-1567 
Le UO INS, 1. eu ca este ee ce ee 1567-1573 
WRDUSTS See sins Oko se CR ta he ee oe eee 1573-1620 
tar Chang. ais. Sole Saeki eee 1620-1621 
Giten Ch eos) rcp Oe a 1621-1628 
Chiung Cheng... ae ek se) len wee 1628-1644 
Emperors of the Ch’ing or Manchu Dynasty 
Shan Chih os e205 cp ee ee ol le 1644-1662 
Kane Herne An ce coe 1662-1723 
Yung Cheng) ies fous ee eee 1723-1736 
{CW ten Ln 5. oho acetates ts cee 1736-1796 
Chia Ch “ings da. 4. Sols oe Baie ee 1796-1821 
Lao Ruane ooo. yeni apace hee 1821-1851 


In addition to the list of the dynasties with their 
dates, the emperors of the Ming and Ch’ing dynasties, 
with their dates also, are given because of the generally 
accepted custom of speaking of old Chinese porcelain as 
belonging to the reigns of Wan Li or of K’ang Hsi rather 
than designating them merely as of the Ming or Ch’ing 
periods. In fact, the porcelains of the Ch’ing period are 
seldom or never spoken of as Ch’ing porcelains, but almost 
invariably are designated in a more specific manner by the 
name of the reigning Emperor. This usage of terminology 
doubtless owes its origin to the intense interest in the 
manufacture of porcelain shewn by the successive Em- 
perors and to the patronage bestowed on the factories 
whose choicest wares were commissioned for the Imperial 
household. 


It is altogether unnecessary to attempt to commit to 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST sar 


memory all the foregoing dates. It is quite sufficient for 
the average person to remember the chief periods—Sung, 
Ming and Ch’ing—and their dates, and also the dates of 
Kang Hsi and of Ch’ien Lung, in the Ch’ing dynasty, 
before whose names asterisks are set. It was during the 
reigns of K’ang Hsi and Ch’ien Lung that porcelain 
making received especial impetus. 


THE SUNG DYNASTY 


Burton summarises the distinguishing characteristics 
of the Sung porcelain as simple, and sometimes clumsy, 
in shape; the body never white, but at best greyish in 
colour, and occasionally drab or even reddish-brown; the 
walls of the pieces thick and rarely possessing the quality 
of translucence; the glazes imperfect and uneven in their 
distribution, displaying bubbles and drops; and the deco- 
ration attained by the use of coloured glazes but never 
by painting under the glaze. 

The significant wares produced during the Sung 
period were the Ju yao (yao means “‘ware’’), whose pale 
green surface was compared to the lightest jade and was 
said to feel like ‘‘congealed lard” to the touch; the Kuan 
yao of the twelfth century, with a crackled green or blue 
glaze; the Chun Chou yao with its blue glaze dappled with 
purple or plum-coloured splotches; and the Lung ch’uan yao. 

Unless one is specialising in ancient Chinese porce- 
lains, which are to be found only in the best museums and 
a few of the most famous private collections, and are quite 
unobtainable, the last named variety is the only one that 
needs to be considered. It is the old celadon ware, so 
highly prized in the Middle Ages, and was exported in 
considerable quantities to India, Persia, Egypt and other 


42 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


parts of Asia and Africa, a small amount finding its way to 
Europe from the merchants of Cairo. It is this celadon 
that has had so many imitations and reproductions and 
the genuine pieces of which are so valued to-day. 

It was called Martabani ware in Persia because it 
was shipped from the port of Moulmein on the Gulf of 
Martaban, in Burmah, and by this name it was at one 
time more or less known in Europe. The name celadon, 
by which it is now generally known, was later applied in 
allusion to the grey-green dress of the shepherd Céladon 
who appeared in d’Urfé’s Astrée. 

From the earliest times it was universally esteemed 
and admired for its beauty and was also looked upon with 
superstitious veneration because it was commonly believed 
to possess the magic property of changing colour on being 
brought into contact with poisoned food or drink. The 
protection it was thus supposed to afford against poison 
naturally increased the high regard in which it was held. 
The “‘Warham Bowl” bequeathed to New College,Oxford, 
by Archbishop Warham in 1530 is a piece of this ware. 

The body of celadon porcelain is heavy and thick and 
the pieces are covered with a coloured glaze, sea-green, 
grey-green, olive-green, blue-green or grass-green. The 
glaze may be either plain or crackled, but the smooth plain 
glaze is more usual. Although a certain amount of the 
celadon ware is undecorated, the pieces generally exhibit 
more or less embellishment under the glaze, the decora- 
tions consisting of vigorously drawn floral motifs (Plate 
6) and occasionally landscapes and Taoist figures. These 
decorations are executed in relief, incised, engraved, or 
stamped into the paste, and were fashioned before the 
pieces were glazed and fired. The glaze is never so thick 


iy a ne ae . 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 43 


that the decoration does not shew through very plainly 
and the increased thickness of the glaze along the lines of 
the relief or the incisions often increases the depth of 
colour at those points. 

The other notable ceramic product of the Sung period 
—the one exception previously mentioned before com- 
menting on the characteristics of celadon—is the Ting yao 
made at Ting Chou in Chihli, a product that came nearer 
to fulfilling the modern ideals of porcelain quality and 
excellence than anything previously made. 

It is known in the West as fén Ting (‘‘rice-flower 
Ting’’) or pat Ting (“White Ting’’), has a thin white or 
yellowish-white body, and is somewhat translucent and 
resonant when struck. ‘The decoration consists of delicate 
ornament, either incised or moulded, and the soft, whitish, 
tender glaze, more or less dull and opaque, sometimes 
gathers in “‘tear-drops”’ of a straw-coloured tinge. It may 
be regarded as the immediate ancestor from which sprang 
the finest subsequent developments in the manufacture of 
porcelain. 

About 1126 the manufacture of Ting yao was trans- 
ferred from ‘Ting Chou to Ching-té Chén, a place destined 
under Imperial patronage to become the greatest porce- 
lain-making centre of the world. 


YUAN DYNASTY 


During the eighty-odd years of the Mongol or Yiian 
dynasty’s rule in China, the development of porcelain, to 
a certain degree, was substantially encouraged in one 
place at least, and the most esteemed product of the 
period, the shu fu yao, made by Imperial command at 
Ching-té Chén, it is generally conceded was a direct tout- 


44. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


come from the earlier Ting yao and an improvement upon 
it. It was, in fact, a perfect porcelain of pure composition, 
hard, white, translucent and resonant. It was a splendid 
and perfected vehicle ready for the later steps of painted 
decoration in colour. 


MING DYNASTY 


With the Ming period, during which all the arts were 
encouraged and flourished, we mark a notable advance, 
for painted decoration in colour, both monochrome (Plates 
4 and 5), and polychrome, now appears with its manifold 
fascination, whereas formerly coloured glazes had sup- 
plied the sole chromatic resource. 

However admirable and praiseworthy may have been 
the previous achievements in the making of porcelain, it is 
with the coming of the Ming dynasty that we enter upon 
the “first really great period of Chinese porcelain.”” With 
the exception of the Téhua factory in the province of 
Fuchien, whose ware will by-and-by receive specific 
notice, the manufacture of porcelain was now concen- 
trated at Ching-té Chén, all the other Sung factories 
having either wholly disappeared or sunk into utter in- 
significance during the troublous times of the Mongol 
domination. As a matter of fact, Ching-té Chén became 
the Imperial manufactory, directly under the control and 
constant supervision of State officials, and it enjoyed 
generous Imperial patronage throughout the ensuing 
centuries. | 

This concentration of the resources and the talent of 
all the most skillful potters, together with the support of 
keenly interested and appreciative rulers, naturally con- 
duced to developments undreamed of before. Earlier 


a 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 4s 


experience was treasured and the best of the preceding 
wares were reproduced, while new technical methods were 
devised and new forms of decoration were evolved. 
Nearly all the fine Chinese porcelains, from the be- 
ginning of the Ming period onward, with which we are 
familiar in Europe and America have come from the kilns 
of Ching-té Chén at one stage or another of its remarkable 
career, although in some instances the articles made there 
were decorated at other places, such as Nankin, before 
being exported to the china-loving West. The only 
significant exceptions are the “white wares” (Plate 7, C), 
of Fuchien, for in some way the factory at Téhua managed 
to retain its identity and independent existence despite 
the centralisation of all other efforts at Ching-té Chén. 
The first advance in colour decoration was to fashion 
the design with the different members of the pattern 
isolated by raised lines in the body. The spaces within 
these lines were then filled with glazes of different colours. 
The process seems to have been suggested by the method 
used for executing designs in cloisonné enamel. Pieces of 
this sort, attributed to the beginning of the Ming period, 
are heavy and oftentimes clumsy both in shape and 
material. The raised lines, defining the different portions 
of the pattern, are left unglazed and virtually silhouette 
the figures; the ornament usually consists of diaper 
patterns, flowers, animals or human figures, boldly drawn 
and rather crudely, while the glazes used are generally of 
three colours—ochre yellow, turquoise blue and purple, 
although an opaque white glaze is sometimes employed 
also. Contrary to the usual Chinese practice, pieces of 
this sort appear to have been first fired to a biscuit stage 
and then decorated with the coloured glazes afterwards, 


46 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


the second firing for the glazes being at a much lower 
temperature than the first. 

The very thin, delicate and translucent white porce- 
lain, developed and refined under the Mongol dynasty 
from the Ting yao of the Sung period, also was further 
elaborated in its refinement until the so-called “‘bodiless”’ 
porcelain was produced. This fragile triumph of the 
potter’s daring, patience and adroitness is commonly 
known as “‘egg-shell”’ porcelain and has been made, prac- 
tically without interruption from the reign of Yung Lo, 
1403-1424. In the finest specimens of this sort of porcelain 
the substance of the body or paste is so thin that it seems 
as though there could be no clay left between the inner 
and outer layers of glaze. 

Notwithstanding the exceeding thinness of this ware, 
many specimens were enriched with intricate designs in- 
cised with a steel tool in the air-dried paste before it was 
glazed and fired. The best early egg-shell pieces bearing 
designs executed in this manner were usually of pure white 
and the ornament was barely visible beneath the glaze 
unless they were held up against the light or filled with 
liquid. ‘There is a very early white bowl of this ware in the 
British Museum with five-clawed dragons traced in white 
slip under the glaze. When this delicate bit of porcelain is 
held up to the light the dragons appear like a water-mark 
in paper. 

Another method of decorating this thin white porce- 
lain, requiring the utmost delicacy and deftness of hand- 
ling, was contrived at about the same time. This is known 
as the “rice grain”’ decoration (Plate 7, A) where small 
pieces the size and shape of a grain of rice are cut out of 
the thin walls of the piece so that the little piercings form 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 47 


the pattern desired. This is done whilst the body is in its 
air-dried state; it is then glazed and fired, the glaze filling 
the piercings and leaving them absolutely transparent. 

The perfect production of such articles eloquently 
testifies to the degree of technical proficiency the Chinese 
potters had reached by the beginning of the fifteenth 
century. 

The production of blue and white ware (Plates 4 and 
5), with the decorations painted in underglaze blue, is the 
next epoch-making event in the history of Chinese porce- 
lain. Painting with underglaze blue seems not to have 
been practised to any appreciable extent in China prior to 
the beginning of the fifteenth century, and it is not at all 
impossible that the Chinese may have derived this 
method of decoration from the Persians who had made use 
of it centuries previously. 

The underglaze blue pigment is made from cobalt and 
the native Chinese supply of this material is of an impure 
and inferior sort, the presence of manganese and other 
impurities producing a dull, greyish tone. The cobalt used 
by the Persians, on the other hand, was very pure and 
brilliant in colour. Early in the fifteenth century the 
Chinese seem to have obtained their supply of cobalt from 
the Persians, or from the people of some other Moslem 
country, for they always speak of it as Mohammedan blue. 

This rich sapphire blue appears in the blue and white 
porcelain of the reigns of Hsuan-Té (1426-1435) and of 
Ch’éng Hua (1465-1487), the early Ming porcelain most 
highly prized by the Chinese connoisseurs themselves, 
while the blue and white of the reign of Yung Lo (1403- 
1424), with its inferior grey-blue, the Chinese collectors 
consider poor by comparison. 


48 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


The supply of Mohammedan blue failed in the latter 
part of the fifteenth century and the Chinese potters 
were driven back upon their own native materials, with a 
resultant change in the character of the colour, a change 
decidedly for the worse. However, during the reign of 
Chéng-Té (1506-1521) a further supply of Mohammedan 
blue was obtained and the blue and white ware of this 
period is exceptionally fine. 

This Mohammedan blue was used in two shades 
(Plates 4 and 5), and there was absolute harmony and 
balance between the blues in their distribution and be- 
tween them and the tone of the glaze. This complete 
harmony of colouring is one of the factors that renders the 
old Ming blue and white so delicious in quality and so 
satisfying. ‘The blue painting of the later Ming period, 
about the time of the reign of Wan Li, is not graduated nor 
shaded (Plate 5, A), but applied throughout with the full 
pigment. Consequently, at its greatest intensity, it pro- 
duces an almost overwhelming impression; at its best, its 
decorative effect is amazingly fine. 

Early in the Ming period, too, the Chinese potters 
succeeded in producing a wonderfully beautiful under- 
glaze red from oxidised copper. At first it was used as a 
ground or solid all-over colour for the outside of such 
articles as bowls and cups, but later came to be employed 
for painting designs (Plate 18, A), and was then covered 
with an especially fine white glaze. An early Chinese 
connoisseur, in describing a piece of porcelain decorated 
with this deservedly famous underglaze red, speaks of 
‘“‘three red fishes on a white ground, pure as driven snow, 
the fish boldly outlined and red as fresh blood, all with 


colour so brilliant as to dazzle the eyes.” 


; 
f 
: 
1 
i 
| 
; 
q 
; 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 49 


A few, but only a few, examples of porcelain bearing 
this underglaze red are to be found in collections on both 
sides of the Atlantic. Later in the Ming period this ex- 
cellent red disappeared and its place was taken by another 
red, an inferior on-glaze colour derived from iron. 

In the latter part of the sixteenth century, or the 
beginning of the seventeenth, as the Ming dynasty was 
nearing its end, variety in the design and technique of 
colour decoration comes more and more into evidence. 
The beginnings of polychrome decoration seem to have 
been well on their way by the reign of Chia Ching (1522- 
1566) for the efforts of the preceding reign (Chéng-té, 
1506-1522) in that direction were continued and we find 
polychrome decoration in reserve on a monochrome 
ground. There were also some designs wrought altogether 


in gold on a solid-coloured ground of red or green.* 
By the time of Wan Li (1573-1629) we find firmly 


established the practice of painting with enamel colours 
on the finished fired glaze, these on-glaze paintings being 
fused into the surface of the glaze by re-firing at a tem- 
perature lower than that of the initial firing. 

There were two well-recognised schemes of poly- 
chrome decoration with enamel colours painted on the 
glaze—the three-colour scheme and the five-colour scheme. 


* As early as the reign of Ch’eng Hua (1465-1488) definite attempts at poly- 
chrome decoration seem to have met with a degree of success. Hannover calls atten- 
tion to the effects produced by the use of different-coloured glazes in combination on 
the same piece, and also points out incipient efforts at painted polychrome decoration, 
instancing several pieces recorded and commented upon by Chinese connoisseurs and 
antiquaries, to wit, a wine-cup with a border of green leaves and red grapes and like- 
wise one of the so-called “chicken-cups,” a cup on which chickens, insects and 
flowers are depicted in natural colours. Of these no examples are extant and we must 
rest content with the recorded statement. Pointing to this as a new colouristic develop- 
ment, Hannover observes: “Here, evidently, is one of the earliest attempts in the 
direction of the so-called wu ts’gi, the complete five-colour brush painting of the later 
Ming period.” 


4 


50 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


The first, known to the Chinese as San ts’a1, was a combi- 
nation of green, purple and yellow. In the time of the 
Emperor Wan Li this scheme was amplified and became 
known as the Wan Li wu ts’az or five-colour scheme, con- 
sisting of the green, purple and yellow already mentioned, 
in addition to underglaze blue and the on-glaze red, de- 
rived from iron oxide, that had taken the place of the 
earlier copper red. From the conspicuous presence and 
frequent predominance of vigorous green in these three- 
and five-colour schemes of enamel painted decoration, 
many of the pieces so decorated are classified as belonging 
to the famulle verte (Plate 17, B), which reached its fullest 
expansion early in the reign of K’ang Hsi. 

Although Chinese porcelain, to some degree, had 
been exported for centuries previously, during the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries this export trade increased steadily 
and rapidly until, by the end of the sixteenth century, 
there was not only the Persian, Indian and Egyptian 
trade to be considered, but whole cargoes of blue and white 
ware were sent to Europe. As we shall see, a little further 
on, the trade relations with foreign countries caused a pro- 
found reaction upon Chinese porcelain both in form and 
in the manner of decoration. 


CHING OR MANCHU DYNASTY 


The political disturbances that attended the passing 
of the Ming dynasty and the establishment of the Ch’ing 
Manchus were unfavourable to any material progress at 
the Ching-té Chén factory, but when order was restored 
and the Emperor K’ang Hsi was securely set upon the 
throne in 1662 there began the golden age of Chinese 
porcelain. During the reigns of K’ang Hsi (1662-1723) 


P « o> rips, sane 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST - 51 


and of his two successors, Yung Cheng (1723-1736) and 
Ch’ien Lung (1736-1796), Chinese porcelain reached the 
high-water mark of its development in technical perfec- 
tion, the grace of forms produced, variety of output, and 
beauty of decoration. Both K’ang Hsi and his grandson 
Ch’ien Lung took a deep interest in the porcelain factory 
and their intelligent patronage was an important factor 
in assuring the triumphs scored during this long period of 
uninterrupted prosperity and progress. 

It would be easier to enumerate the sorts of porcelain 
that were not made during this epoch than to chronicle all 
the divers kinds that were produced. Nearly all of the 
earlier types that distinguished preceding centuries were 
duplicated in addition to the output of the wares that 
especially characterised the eighteenth century. It is 
just as well to bear in mind that the great bulk of the 
Oriental porcelain with which we are acquainted, both 
in private possession and in museum collections, in Europe 
and America alike, was made at Ching-té Chén in the 
prolific eighteenth century and the latter part of the 
seventeenth and falls under the general classifications of 
either K’ang Hsi or Ch’ien Lung china. 

Without entering into a full catalogue of the dis- 
tinctive K’ang Hsi and Ch’ien Lung products of Ching-té 
Chén, which will be noted in the ensuing sections, we 
should remember that within the limits of this period, 
besides the well known varieties of blue and white ware, 
the Chinese potters put forth the sorts of porcelain known 
as the famille noir, the famille verie (Plate 17, B), in its 
ultimate development, and the famille rose (Plate 17, A), 
the last named the most beautiful of all the groups desig- 
nated by their distinctive methods of colouration. ‘To this 


52 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


era also belong the “‘powder blue”’ porcelains (Plate 94, 
A), and that large and highly diversified group generally 
called “‘ Lowestoft”? (Plates 20-27), which was made to the 
order of foreign merchants and decorated, oftentimes with 
armorial bearings or monograms (Plates 22, 23, B and 
26, B), for individual customers in England and America. 
This last mentioned type of chinaware has been mistak- 
enly termed “Lowestoft”? although by far the greatest 
part of it was never within miles of the little East Anglian 
town whose name the general public, aided and abetted 
by many antique dealers, insist upon attaching to it. This 
long-standing fallacy dies hard. There was porcelain made 
and decorated at Lowestoft, beyond all shadow of doubt, 
as we shall see later on, but to apply the name “‘ Lowe- 
stoft”’ to what was purely a Chinese product, influenced by 
Western preferences expressed to the obliging makers, is 
altogether absurd. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body or paste of the oldest Chinese 
porcelains is heavy, opaque, crude and often full of im- 
purities to such an extent that many authorities are dis- 
inclined to consider it truly porcelain. It is not until well 
on towards the end of the Sung period that a body appears 
which all agree is undeniably porcelain, a body hard, white, 
translucent and resonant. 

It is worth noting that the Chinese themselves 
apparently attach no particular value to the quality of 
translucence, which we set so much store by. In their 
estimation, resonance is of far greater moment in judging 
the physical merits of a piece. 

The body or paste of Chinese porcelain is by no means 
of uniform quality, even at any one period. All sorts of 
variations are to be found from the coarse greyish, reddish 


ae, ets 


PA Clets 


ul ‘apIsjno pue aprsut 


‘ 


wimasny Ystiiig 9y4 jo Aseyinod 


ystnjiq A[YSI[s ozejs ‘aanew ojed pue mojjed ojed ‘onyq 4YSI] ‘UOTTIWIIOA ‘uae13 qUeTTIIIG 
sfyom feo, pue Bim} ‘IoMOy Sururejuoo speued poAsosei podeys-uvj YjIM punois MoTaA UIyUeN JOLIE} xXq 


(OOLT 82419) TMOG ISH DNV 


UOTJeIOOIp [VIO 


‘ 


PLATE 16 


winesny Ysi}4ig ay} Jo Aseyinog 


8Ze[S Ul 9BUTY YSIN][G ‘MOTIAA YY SI] JO 
UOI}IPpB 944 YIM SINO[OO oes UT ‘QoUeNnYUI UOWEAIZeYy SuIMeYsS 


‘UOT}e1OOap IaMOY pue sspisijied ‘pos pue useis ‘an]{q ‘UOT[IWIIOA 
ul spevey aa-nof jo Japioq ‘410dxa UloJsaAA IOJ WII peorq YIM 


aLVId ISH ONV. A @ 


9Ze[3 YstAois !YOV[q Ul YOM ouUTT 
YIM ‘BuUlIywUIWOpesd UOI[IWIIaA pUv P[OS 94 ‘UOT[IWIOA pue YZouIq 
‘yuid ‘an{q ystusei3 ‘use13 ojed ‘pos ul uoljeiooep ‘sAvids 1aM0G 


pue spliq uMeIp Ajauy ‘a1jU90 ‘410dxo Ulo4JsoM JIOF WIL peoig 
uadduod AVaAdS-YUMOTH HLIM ALWId ISH ONVA “V 


3 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 53 


or yellowish pastes of the very early period to the fine 
pure white, hard, translucent and resonant body of the egg- 
shell or “bodiless” porcelain perfected in the early Ming 
period. Furthermore, we know that at Ching-té Chén, in 
the early part of the eighteenth century, various grades of 
porcelain were being made at the same time. The finest 
was composed of equal parts of kaolin and petuntse, while 
in the composition of an inferior kind there were four parts 
of kaolin to six parts of petuntse. The least proportion of 
kaolin that could be used was one part to three parts of 
petuntse. 

In many pieces of the purest Chinese porcelain the 
walls are thick so that the paste is not translucent except 
at the thinnest parts. The colour of the paste is affected by 
the purity or impurity of the ingredients entering into the 
composition, and also by the peculiarities of different local 
formulas which regulate the proportions of the ingredients 
employed in mixing the clay. The later paste for the 
finest wares of the Ching-té Chén factory, during the 
reigns of K’ang Hsi and Ch’ien Lung, is pure milky white, 
while the paste of Fuchien is characterised by a creamy or 
ivory tinge (Plate 7, C), and the finest pieces betray a 
slightly pinkish or rosy glow. 

The term ‘“‘soft paste” is often heard in connexion 
with Chinese porcelain. The term thus applied is ab- 
solutely misleading as to the nature of the porcelain in 
question. There was never any soft paste porcelain made 
in China. The so-called “soft paste” of the Ch’ing period 
seems to have been compounded with such a proportion of 
fusible ingredients that it might be porcelainised at a 
lower temperature than the ware whose body was com- 
pounded in the usual way. The modification appears to 


54 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


have been due to the addition of steatite or soapstone. 
Unlike the majority of Chinese porcelain, which was fired 
and glazed at one operation, the so-called “soft paste” 
porcelain was first fired to the biscuit stage, then painted 
with its decoration, coated with a lead glaze and fired 
again at a temperature lower than that of the first firing. 

It is highly probable that this was the variety of 
porcelain mentioned in his letters by the Jesuit, Pére 
d’Entrecolles to whose admirable account we are in- 
debted for much of our information anent the manufacture 
of Chinese porcelain. He states that this kind of china was 
remarkably light in weight and that the painted decora- 
tions resembled paintings on vellum in their neatness and 
precision. These are qualities that mark the so-called 
““soft paste’’ Chinese porcelain whose surface is somewhat 
pitted or stippled in appearance and of a pale greyish tint. 

The body colour of a good deal of old Chinese porce- 
lain with blue decoration, or with decoration in which blue 
predominates, as in the imitations of the Japanese Im- 
ari ware, appears to be of a slightly bluish tinge like the 
colour of very poor skimmed-milk from which every atom 
of cream has been extracted. This tinge is not the body 
colour but is due, in reality, to the presence of smalt 
(pulverised cobalt glass) in the glaze, and was purposely 
introduced for the general harmony of colour. When such 
a piece is chipped or broken, or where it is not wholly 
covered by the glaze, the body or paste will be found to be 
hard, smooth and white. 

Tue Guiaze. The characteristic composition of the 
glaze of Chinese porcelain, and the manner of its applica- 
tion, have been noted in the section on The Making of 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST © 55 


Chinaware. ‘There are, however, certain amplifications of 
the statements made therethat must be added at this point. 

To the manipulation of the glaze is unquestionably 
due a great measure of the beauty and charm of not a 
few types of old Chinese porcelain. In certain types, in- 
deed, the body is merely a vehicle to give shape and 
stability while the glaze plays the role of both decoration 
and finish. The glazes were often wholly responsible for 
the colour effects and were either applied to the whole 
piece in one coating or several different glazes were applied 
at different places in order to produce varied patterns 
and colour results. 

The crackled glaze, which is so highly esteemed and 
which occurs in varied forms that constitute decorations 
in themselves, was in all likelihood the result of accident in 
the first instance. ‘The crackling was caused by the glaze 
cooling and contracting more rapidly than the body under- 
neath it, thus breaking into sections separated by fine 
surface lines or cracks. 

Having discovered the cause of this phenomenon, the 
potters turned it to good account and were soon able to 
produce crackled ware at will and, what was more, even to 
regulate the size of the crackle which came to be desig- 
nated as large, medium and small, the last being graduated 
from the size of trout scales down to a semblance of fish 
roe. The effect of the large and medium-sized crackling 
was sometimes accentuated by rubbing either red pig- 
ment or India ink into the minute cracks. 

Vari-colored or “‘transmutation”’ glazes were at first 
the result of accident but were soon brought wholly under 
the potter’s control. As these glazes, along with the other 
coloured glazes, some of which have already been men- 


56 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


tioned, were really decorations quite as much as they 
were the bodily finish and protection of the ware, they 
will be more fully noticed under ‘Types of Decoration. 

The glaze is transparent and, when perfectly applied, 
is evenly distributed over the whole surface of an article. 
It is only on pieces where the mechanical technique is not 
perfect that the glaze runs and collects in “‘tear-drops.”’ 

When quite pure and perfect, the glaze is colourless 
and absolutely smooth of surface. When it shews a slight 
tinge of colour, this tinge is either the result of intent or 
else due to some impurity in the composition of the glaze. 

The slightly dappled, vellum or matt-like appearance 
of the glaze on the so-called “‘soft paste’’ Chinese porcelain 
has already been noted. This dappled or matt-like surface 
of the glaze is often to be seen also on the so-called “‘ Lowe- 
stoft’’ china. 

There is a monochrome coloured glaze seemingly 
peculiar to the Ming period. It is a smooth glaze un- 
crackled, coated over a grey or white crackled porcelain, 
and is much esteemed in tones of green. 

ArticLeEs Mapre anp Contour. ‘The articles com- 
monly made of porcelain included vessels for temple or 
sacrificial use, the vessels for domestic shrines, all manner 
of writing paraphernalia, every description of vase, jar 
and bowl for flowers—for the Chinese are an essentially 
flower-loving people and require a large supply and variety 
of such things—wine-cups, trays, teapots, tea-caddies, 
teacups, plates, platters, bowls, bottles, drum or barrel- 
shaped garden seats, flower-pots, lanthorns, fish-bowls, 
covered jars for sweetmeats or ginger, plaques for the 
embellishment of furniture, figures or statuettes, and an 
whole host of minor odds and ends. : 


PLATE 17 


A. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FAMILLE ROSE OCTAGONAL B. EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PLATE 
PLATE ; Decoration in characteristic famille verte colouring; diaper border enclos- 
Rim of characteristic rose pink; polychrome centre on white ground, ing inner border composed of emblems and flowers; centre,in shaped panel, 
with ‘‘Mandarin”’ figures, vases, jars and table shewing steps, house and flower vase 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


| 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 


6000 
ae 


ane 


Fic. r. Characteristic Chinese porcelain shapes 


58 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Fic, 2, Characteristic Chinese porcelain shapes 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST ~ 59 


Besides these, there were the table services and other 
miscellaneous articles made for general export to Europe 
and America, and oftentimes made to the special order 
of individual patrons. 

The native Chinese shapes of the earliest porcelain 
pieces were in many cases derived from still earlier bronze 
or brass articles, such as various bronze temple vessels, 
and they perpetuated the forms of their prototypes. 
These pieces usually possessed grace and directness of 
contour; they were always interesting. A number of 
the characteristic Chinese shapes are given in the ac- 
companying line cuts. 

Increasing trade relations between China, on the one 
hand, and Persia and India, on the other, especially from 
the beginning of the fifteenth century onward, resulted ina 
multiplied variety of contours. Persian and Indian shapes 
were gradually adopted—although the Chinese have ever 
been notoriously conservative—and became in time a part 
of the Chinese contour repertoire, while certain other 
shapes were employed almost exclusively for articles 
manufactured for export to the countries just mentioned 
and apparently made little appeal to native Chinese taste. 
Some of the representative Persian shapes adopted and 
naturalised by the Chinese potters are shewn on the 
accompanying pages, especially in Figure 2. 

In addition to the shapes obviously derived from 
bronze vessels and continued in pottery and porcelain, 
there were other naturalistic shapes, suited to plastic 
rendering, that the potters devised and perfected at an 
early date. Early in the Ming period, along with the severe 
contours of ancient bronzes translated into porcelain, we 
find lively imitations of animals, fruit and flowers. ‘The 


60 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


potters displayed great aptitude in adapting these forms 
to expression in their own medium. 

When Oriental china began to be shipped in large 
quantities to Europe, a certain reflex influence set in from 
the Western purchasers. It was not long before the cus- 
tomers of the different East India companies gave orders 
to be fulfilled in China, and accompanied these orders with 
patterns and designs of what they desired to have executed 
for them at the factory of Ching-té Chén. These com- 
missions the Chinese cheerfully and obligingly fulfilled 
oftentimes giving the new articles they were fashioning a 
peculiarly Oriental (Plate 20, B) interpretation, but for 
their own use and pleasure they held to the time-honoured 
forms to which they had been accustomed and never really 
adopted the Western shapes as they had some of those 
derived from Persia several centuries previously. 

Types oF Decoration. ‘The types of decoration for 
Chinese porcelain during the period with which we are 
chiefly concerned—that is, from about the middle of the 
seventeenth century to a little before the middle of the 
nineteenth—were exceedingly varied, and it will conduce 
to a comprehensive grasp of the subject if we follow for 
the most part the classification made many years ago by 
Sir Wollaston Franks when he arranged the collection in 
the British Museum. This classification is so logical and 
all-inclusive that it has very generally been followed as a 
standard ever since. The classification makes five main 
divisions and is as follows: 


A. Decoration depending on the Glaze alone. 
1. Glazes plain white or creamy. 
2. Coloured Glazes uniform in tint. 
3. Flambé and other Glazes, varying locally in Oke but the 
whole applied at the same time. 


PLATE 18 


MUnasnyy Ustz 


S10499S 9UIYM PUL 9I4JUBO Ul SOSEA PUB SIOMOY ‘spunois on{q 
Yiep uo suinureyyuesAryo pue Jodeip pos :morTjed 9]ed pue uorpiwmisa 
‘pos ‘use13 UI UOTJe1ODap faqIYM puUe 9N[q Ylep JO s1ojoes o4eusIsiYV 


KARINE EE 


G2LVId TVNOOVLOO AYNLNGYO HINGELHOIY 


lig 9} Jo Asayinod 


yIOM 9UI[ YIEp YIM 
pel papeys Ul UOTZeIODEp :a14U90 Ul YIeUI BUIPUNOIJINS puNnoIs sp MW 


SLVd dAIld HLIM ULV Id AYNINGAO HINGELAHOIY ATAVEA VY 


PLATE 19 


A. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY CUP AND SAUCER, DECORATED AT CANTON 
Decoration in deep cobalt blue with superimposed gilding; white glaze 


B. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CUP AND SAUCER 


Border of emblems and emblems on outside of cup; decoration in brilliant green, light 
blue, vermilion and pale yellow; glaze nearly white 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


PLATE 20 


A. K’ANG HSI PLATE (1662-1722) 


Herring-bone diaper rim edge and border of empanelled flower groups, 
enclosing centre with ‘‘Mandarin”’ figures; decoration in light and dark 
vermilion with touches of gold; bluish glaze 


B. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY “JESUIT” PLATE 


Border of flower scrolls and winged cherubs, and centre depicting the 
baptism of Christ; decoration in dull vermilion and gold; greenish glaze 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


PAs 21 


uinesnyy Yst}tig 943 Jo Asayinod 


Ysluseis A[JYALS oZB[B SUOL[IUII9A pus pos ‘ani[q 4Y4sI| ‘yurd deap ‘usei2 
UOIZEIOOIP {Us:SOp UI VOUSNYUI UlaysaMA ‘S[[OIOS ODDDO0Y AQ pasolous 


Ystuseis A[}YSBI[S oze[s SuseIs WY BIT ‘914U90 Ul Japil pue jJueYydste ‘slamoy pue soinsy [jews Jo Japi0q 
pue UOT[IWIIIA ‘pos ‘anjq [[Np ‘umorg ‘yuId UOI}EIODIp ‘s[[OLlos OD0D0Y joued xIs !eUulyd ,,JJOJSAMOT,, Pe] eO-Os JO IoUUeU OF UIA UOT}eIODIG 
UI pasO]oUa UOT4dIIOSUI YSI[sUq PU SIEMOY ,,Uspseiq,, peta}zeVOS [[BWUIS WI GHAVM 

Uaduo NUALSAM OL AGVW ‘OAW ..LIOLSAMO',, “d GNV GC4qG INOW HLIM ALVWId AYNLNGO HLNGYLHOIG °V 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 61 


B. Decoration in Slip, generally white, over the Glaze. 


C. Decoration with Underglaze Colours. 
1. Copper-red. 
2. Cobalt-blue. (This includes all the “blue and white” ware.) 


D. Glazes of more than one Colour, painted on the previously fired biscutt. 


E. Decoration with Enamel Colours over the Glaze. 
x. Coral. 
2. Famille notre. 

. Famille verte. 

. Famille rose. 

. Chrysanthemum and Peony. 

** Mandarin.” 

“India.” 

. Chinese Imari and Kakiyemon. 

. Reserved Panels in Ground Colour. 

Jesuit. 

. Lowestoft. 


OO oO™N An > WwW 


= 
Lam! 


The foregoing classification does not make a separate 
division of modelled decoration found on white ware 
especially the white ware of Fuchien (Plate 7, C), already 
referred to, with ornaments modelled in high relief and 
applied; neither does it make a separate division for pat- 
terns engraved in the paste before firing and glazing and 
subsequently enriched with enamel painting over the relief. 


A. Decoration depending on the Glaze alone. 

1. Glazes plain white. ‘This does not mean the ordinary ware 
made for subsequent decoration in colour, but the finer- 
textured pieces with an ivory-like appearance, whose beauty 
of form and mellow, ivory-like colour constitute their charm 
(Plate 7 C). China of this sort, which usually occurs in 
rather small objects, is ordinarily known as blanc de Chine. 

In this section may also be classed crackled ware, with a 
transparent colourless glaze over a white body or over a 
coarser greyish paste. 


62 


THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


2. Coloured Glazes uniform in tint. Reference has already been 


made to the skill with which the Chinese potters contrived 
glazes of various colours, the colour being inherent in the 
glaze itself and produced by the materials in its composition. 
Besides the Celadon glaze (Plate 6) and its greyish and 
greenish variations already noted, often with underglaze 
engraving, there were glazes of various turquoise shades, 
royal blue, deep blue, blue verging almost to black, sang 
de boeuf, mule’s blood, pigeon’s blood (a glaze approaching 
ruby red), liver colour, tomato red, ruby, coral, lilac, pink, 
lavender, clair de lune, crushed strawberry, purple, peach 
bloom, “dead-leaf” brown and sundry other gradations of 
brown, café au lait, tea-colour, Imperial pale yellow, lemon 
yellow, straw colour, orange and grey. 

The glazes known as “souffle” and “jasper” belong in this 
monochrome glaze class. The “soufflé” glaze may be of any 
colour. The name refers to the mechanical manner in which 
the effect is produced. Jacquemart, quoting and translating 
Pére d’Entrecolles, says: “This is how it is obtained. The 
colour, made of the proper consistency, is placed in a tube, 
one end of which is covered with a close gauze; by blowing 
through the other end, little drops filled with air are pre- 
cipitated upon the enamel. These burst when coming in con- 
tact with the sides of the piece, and reduce themselves into 
little contiguous circles, forming a network like the finest 
lace. Sometimes the soufflé colour is blue, more often of a 
carmine red, which, at first sight, gives to the piece the 
appearance of a violet-like enamel. This decoration often 
fails; the little drops do not burst, but form, on the con- 
trary, into little veins, which run half-melted into the 
starch-blue glaze. Hence results a peculiar decoration very 
agreeable to the eye—jasper, not less sought after than the 
soufflé itself.” 


. Flambé and other Glazes, varying locally in Colour, but the whole 


applied at the same time. In these splashed, mottled or flambé 
glazes—“‘transmutation” glazes, the Chinese call them—the 
varied effect is largely dependent upon chemical changes that 


— 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 63 


take place in the substance of the glaze itself during the firing 
process and often produce striking contrasts and modulations 
of colour. One type of transmutation glaze of the “Chtn- 
yao,” so say the Chinese connoisseurs, ought to be “red as 
cinnabar, green as the plumage of the king fisher, and purple, 
brown and black as the skin of the egg-plant.” 


B. Decoration in Slip, generally white, over the Glaze. 


Porcelain decorated with devices in slip over the glaze 
was usually of a strong-coloured ground so as to throw the 
pattern in white’ slip into stronger relief. This sort of 
decoration was applied mostly to vases, jars and bowls. 


C. Decoration with Underglaze Colours. 


This sort of decoration was painted on the air-dried 
body before the application of the glaze and before firing. 


1. Copper-red. Reference has already been made to the old 
copper-red decoration, and also to the later iron-oxide red 
under glaze. 

2. Cobalt-blue. ‘This class includes all the enormous family of 
“blue and white’ ware. The white porcelain supplies the 
ground; the decorations are in blue alone. The most usual 
types of decoration found in “blue and white” ware are: 


a. Miscellaneous (Plate 11, A), including dragons, flowers, 
birds, animals, landscapes, pagodas, shaped panels or 
medallions, bridges, mountains, trees, fishes, fishermen 
in punts, insects, baskets and pots of flowers, houses, 
hunting scenes, pheasants on rockeries, peonies, bam- 
boos, peony and lotus scrolls, asters, magnolias, and 
sundry other subjects. 

b. The prunus or so-called “hawthorn” (Plate 8) blossom 
pattern, executed either in blue on a white ground or in 
white on a blue ground. 

c. The “Mandarin” (Plate 5, B) type, so-called because 
the chief subjects are figures, usually of persons belonging 


64. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


to the Mandarin class. Under this division should also be 
placed the tall, willowy ladies standing beside vases of 
flowers, irreverently known as “long Elizas.” The 
seventeenth century Dutch traders called them “lange 
Liszen” and the term, translated as “‘long Elizas,”’ has 
clung ever since (Plate 11, B). 

d. “India” china. This large class includes all the porcelain 
made for export to Europe and America and is character- 
ised, to a great extent by shapes that are essentially 
European (Plates 11, B and 12), such as tureens, vege- 
table dishes, sauce boats, gravy boats and cream jugs. 
The decorative motifs are virtually the same as in the 
preceding classes. 

It might be well, however, to add to this class the china 
made for export to Persia (Plate 5, A), and India on 
which scrolls, flowers, tree and other devices were used 
that were not at all Chinese but essentially Persian in 
character and derivation. 

3. Powder-blue. Powder-blue porcelain (Plate 94, A), was 
decorated with a solid coating of cobalt blue that was blown, 
not brushed, upon the air-dried body before glazing and firing. 
This method of application in minute drops of fluid pigment 
imparted the powdered appearance. 

4. Mazarine blue. ‘This is a blue in which the ground is solid and 
has not the mottled aspect of powder blue, hence the different 
name to distinguish the two types. 


It should be added that with both powder blue and 
mazarine blue there are often reserved spaces or panels 
in white (Plate 94, A), so that the blue does not wholly 
cover the surface of the piece. Various devices occur in 
these reserved spaces, and are rendered either wholly in 
blue or else in polychrome. 

On much blue and white china the decoration is 
rendered in several shades of blue (Plates 4, 5 and 11), 
usually two, but sometimes more. Attention must also be 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 65 


directed to the great variations that occur in the quality 
of the blue—it may be a pure cobalt colour, or blackish, 
greyish, or even almost purple at times. The pale silvery 
blue might be especially characteristic of one period, 
while the full-bodied blue would be equally characteristic 
of another. 


D. Glazes of more than one Colour, painted on the previously fired biscuit. 


Allusion has already been made to this method of 
decoration in the section on History. 


E. Decoration with Enamel Colours over the Glaze. 


This division includes a broad range of distinct and 
well recognised types of decoration. They are: 


1. Coral-red, the motifs being rendered in red alone (Plate 18, A), 
on the white porcelain, or the ground colour being coral-red 
with devices in gold. 

2. Famulle noire, so-called because the ground is either a lustrous 
green-black glaze or enamel, while the decorative motifs 
appear in white, green, yellow and brown. The usual subject is 
the prunus blossom, and the colouring is always restrained. 

3. Famille verte (Plate 17, B), so-called because the prevailing or 
dominating colour is a vivid enamel leaf green. The other 
colours are underglaze blue or on-glaze blue, an iron red, 
purple and yellow. While the green dominates, it does not 
necessarily monopolise the colour scheme. The subjects de- 
picted are largely historical—emperors, eminent scholars, 
famous warriors, statesmen, and scenes from celebrated plays 
and romances. Floral motifs and genre scenes are also of fre- 
quent occurrence. 

4. Famille rose (Plate 17, A), so-called because a beautiful rose- 
colour, a later addition to the porcelain painter’s palette, is a 
conspicuous colour and often imparts the prevailing tone. 
Along with this distinctive rose-colour all other colours, many 
of them hitherto new to Chinese porcelain, were freely used so 


66 


10. 


THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


that the famille rose is par excellence the polychrome class. 
The famille rose began to dominate about the second quarter 
of the eighteenth century and continued in high favour till the 
early years ofjthe nineteenth. All manner of subjects are rep- 
resented in the famille rose decoration and the drawing is 
usually of the greatest delicacy and refinement. 


. Chrysanthemum and Peony (Plate 14). This class is some- 


times so designated because of the well defined type of 
decoration in which chrysanthemums or peonies, or both 
together, are the dominating motifs. ‘This type occurs in both 
the famille rose and the famille verte. 


. “Mandarin” china (Plate 13). This class has the same 


motifs as already noted for the “blue and white” “Mandarin” 
group, the difference being that they are in polychrome. 


« Chinese Imari and Chinese Kakiyemon. ‘This group consists 


of imitations of the Japanese Imari and Kakiyemon types. 
There was such a demand from Europe for these Japanese 
wares that the Chinese saw their market being injured by 
Japanese competition and therefore promptly produced types 
of the same sort. The red, blue and gold Chinese Imari 
(Plate 10), is often much finer and more beautiful ware than 
the Japanese originals. The Chinese Kakiyemon (Plate 14), 
also, is exceedingly beautiful. 


. “India” china (Plates 16, A, 19, 23, 24, 26). The same distinc- 


tion applies here as in No. 6. 


. Reserved Panels in Ground Colour (Plate 15). ‘This class 


occurs also in the Powder-blue division, the famille verte, and 
the famille rose. The polychrome devices in the shaped re- 
served panels are usually flowers, birds, figures or landscapes. 
A great deal of china with divers shades of brown glaze and 
reserved panels with blue decoration (Plate 9) was exported 
to Europe by the Dutch merchants and is generally known as 
“‘Batavian”’ ware. 

Jesutt china, so-called because it was decorated with scrip- 
tural or ecclesiastical designs supplied by the Jesuit mission- 
aries. The “Baptism” plate (Plate 20, B), shews a good 
example of such decoration. The renderings were purely 


a I da 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 67 


Oriental, as may be seen by looking at the writhing cherubs 
in the border which more resemble malignant animals than 
celestial creatures. 

“Lowestoft”? (Plates 21, 27). Under this head comes all that 
great body of china exported to Europe and America through- 
out the greater part of the eighteenth century, decorated with 
armorial bearings, monograms and cyphers, bearing numerous 
small polychrome flowers, thoroughly European and not at all 
Oriental in character. 


II 


In casting up an enumeration of the foregoing, we 
must not overlook the importance to general decorative 
effect of the scroll borders (Plates 12, B, 16 and 20), and, 
even more, of the many varied diaper patterns (Figs. 3, 
4 and 5, and Plates 17, B, 12, A and 14), that were em- 
ployed for the enrichment of rims and borders and, often 
enough, composed whole grounds, imparting a rich texture 
full of interest in both colour and line. These diapers occur 
constantly in almost all classes. 

In point of decorative interest, we cannot attach too 
much importance to the diaper patterns in the embellish- 
ment of Chinese porcelain. Some idea of the rich variety 
to be achieved by their use may be gathered from a care- 
ful scrutiny of the examples given in figures 3, 4 and 5. 
And these are only a portion of the repertoire. When 
employed in monochrome, as on the blue and white china- 
ware, they afford a fascinating enrichment; expressed in 
a variety of colours, they cause the porcelain to glow 
with vibrant life. To the apt use of diapers is due no 
small part of the charm of Oriental china. 

Amongst the many subjects that appear in the dec- 
oration of Chinese porcelain, besides the motifs already 
mentioned may be numbered symbols (Plates 11, B, 13 


68 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


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scattered ‘‘Dresden”’ flowers, made to Western order; decoration cobalt blue, light pink, bluish 
green, gold, black and dull vermilion; glaze of greyish tone 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


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ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 69 


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THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


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and 5, B), emblems, charms, characters, lozenges, coins, 
rhinoceros horns, fillets, sugar cane, bamboo, storks, 
tortoises, fir-trees, cocks, mirrors, fish nets, bats (Plate 
18, A), mythical animals, such as kylins, swastikas, 
sceptres, chess boards, rats and vines, squirrels, arrows, 
three-legged toads, musical instruments, drums, horses, 
oxen, hares, monkeys, sheep, dogs, boars, lions, tigers, 
elephants, deer, foxes, camels, cats, ducks, pheasants, 
quails, peacocks, parrots, butterflies, bees, silkworms, 
and endless fruits, plants, flowers and trees, every one of 
which has some symbolical significance. The peculiar fig- 
ures termed symbols, Sir Wollaston Franks notes, “‘ are 
generally eight in number, although the individual forms 
are apt to vary.” The number eight is favourably re- 
garded by the Chinese, doubtless because of the Pa-kwa 
or eight mystical trigrams and also because it is a number 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 71 


whose units can be arranged symmetrically. These se- 
quences of eight may be classed in three chief divisions: 
(1) the emblems of the eight immortals, which are of 
Taoist origin and not of very common occurrence; (2) 
the eight lucky emblems of the Buddhists, which are to 
be found in every possible place and manner of expres- 
sion; (3) the pa-pao or signs of the eight precious things. 
These last vary widely in their expression and seem not 
to be connected with any particular religion. 

Symbols or emblems can usually be distinguished 
from other ornaments by the fillets or streaming ribbons 
entwined about or attached to them. In ordinary life 
fillets are narrow strips of red cloth which the Chinese 
tie round or attach to any object they think has the 
efficacy of a charm. These fillets typify the rays or aura 
emanating from the charm and are to a charm what the 
nimbus is to a saint or deity. A number of characteristic 
symbols or emblems, with fillets attached, are shown in 
figures 6 and 7. 

The symbolism of Chinese decoration is inexhaustible. 
There is a story wrapped up in every piece of Chinese orna- 
ment and there is not a cup, saucer, plate or vase that will 
not repay investigation on that score alone. You can eat 
your dinner from a Chinese plate and along with each 
morsel of beef or mutton you can also trace a romance or 
get a lesson in Confucian morals, if you care to read the 
language of the symbols before your eyes. 

Tue Marks. The marks on Chinese porcelain may 
occur in three classes—date marks, hall and other allied 
marks, and symbol marks. The date marks may be in both 
plain and seal characters. Marks usually are found on the 
base of a piece and most commonly are painted in blue. 


72 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Fic. 6. Typical emblems or symbols used in the decoration of Chinese porcelain 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 73 


Fic. 7. Typical emblems or symbols used in the decoration of Chinese porcelain 


74 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


On some of the later pieces they are in red. They may also 
be engraved in the paste or stand out in relief. 

Little reliance can be placed upon them, for they have 
been habitually forged and misapplied, and it is more than 
likely that falsified marks have been made, over and over 
again, to the order of exporters. This practice has gone on 
for centuries. By the average person the mark on a piece 
of Chinese porcelain may as well be considered merely an 
interesting item of decoration and naught else. ‘The mark 
may tell the truth, but more probably it tells a lie. Under 
ordinary circumstances, it is much safer and more satis- 
factory to disregard the mark and judge a piece by its more 
visible and tangible qualities. If you are really concerned 
about the mark, go to an acknowledged expert in Chinese 
porcelain and he can tell you what the mark says and also 
what he thinks the piece really is. His opinion will be 
worth considering. 


JAPANESE CHINAWARE 


History. Japanese porcelain is thought to have had 
its beginning with the handiwork of a certain Gorodayu 
Go-Shonzui. It is related that he visited China at the be- 
ginning of the sixteenth century and worked for five years 
in the factories of Ching-té Chén. When he learned all he 
could in that time, he returned to Japan, taking with him 
a supply of porcelain materials from China, and made a 
number of pieces of blue and white porcelain. Not know- 
ing where there were deposits of kaolin and petuntse in his 
native country, he had to stop making porcelain when his 
materials gave out. 

In the opening years of the seventeenth century 
Risampei, a Corean potter settled in the province of 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 7s 


Hizen, so the story goes, discovered the necessary kaolin 
and petuntse in the neighbourhood of Arita. Kilns were 
established at Hyakken and it is probable that blue and 
white ware was made there. The kilns were afterwards 
moved to Arita to be near the source of supplies. 

The use of brilliant enamel colour on Japanese porce- 
lain is inseparably associated with the name of Kakiyemon. 
Kakiyemon was connected with the works at Arita and, ac- 
cording to the story told, he and a companion, Tokuemon, 
set out to China in 1646, bent on discovering the secret 
of Chinese enamel colours. At Nagasaki they chanced 
upon the captain of a Chinese junk who gave them the 
information they sought and thus saved them the trouble 
of a long journey. ‘They went back to Arita and it was not 
long after this that Kakiyemon originated the beautiful 
manner of decoration known by his name. After Arita, 
other porcelain factories were established in the same prov- 
ince, such as Nabeshima and Mikawachi, under the con- 
trol of the great feudal lords and not a little fine porcelain 
was produced at these places. 

In the provinces of Kioto, Owari and Kaga other 
porcelain factories sprang up and various sorts of wares 
were made, restrained in character with delicately drawn 
designs in underglaze blue or else decorated with a few 
enamel colours in a reticent manner and with excellent 
good taste. The Japanese always greatly admired the old 
Chinese celadon wares, and these also they used as models 
for their work. 

One of the dominant characteristics of Japanese 
porcelain is its reticence of colouring and design. ‘The 
decoration was always kept well within bounds and ex- 
uberance of composition was virtually unknown. It is not 


76 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


fair to judge Japanese taste in porcelain design by the 
Imari ware made for export. If anyone is to be blamed for 
the crudities and vulgarity that often appear in such ware, 
it is the Dutch traders who suggested that what the Japa- 
nese porcelain makers had done extremely well should be 
“improved” by mussing up the design and adding heavy 
blobs of colour. A great portion of the Imari ware that 
found its way to the West was of a description that the 
Japanese would not countenance for their own use, and it 
was made only for export at the behest of the Dutch East 
India merchants. 

Some of the most distinguished porcelains of Japan 
were produced at the different factories in the latter part 
of the eighteenth century and first half of the nineteenth. 
As there was no one important centre of porcelain pro- 
duction, like Ching-té Chén in China, there was not only 
great diversity of individual style in the wares made at the 
several factories, but there was also much difference in the 
quality of the paste and glaze. The output during this 
period was not large, except in the few instances where the 
porcelain was made almost solely for export, and for that 
reason the quality in more than one of the factories was 
maintained at a rather high standard. 

Tue Bopy. In general, the quality of the body in 
Japanese porcelain was not so good as that which dis- 
tinguished the ware made at the great factory of Ching-té 
Chén in China. The Japanese paste was more glassy look- 
ing and seemed of thinner consistency. Compared with 
the Chinese pastes, it appeared to lack the finer qualities 
that go to make a really excellent body. For one thing, it 
seems as though the materials for the Japanese paste had 
not been prepared in the same careful, scrupulous and 


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PLATE 27 


A. CHINESE “LOWESTOFT” PLATTER WITH DECORATIONS JIN APPLE GREEN 


Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Museum 


B, CHINESE ‘“‘LOWESTOFT” COVERED DISH WITH 
UNUSUAL DECORATION OF STRAWBERRIES 


Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Museum 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 77 


patient manner as the Chinese. Furthermore, the clay 
mixture apparently was not so plastic as the Chinese and 
perhaps because of this failing it was customary to fire the 
ware to a biscuit stage before glazing and then fire it a 
second time after glazing. There was also oftentimes a 
tendency for the pieces to warp and crack in the firing. 
The result of all these conditions was that much of the 
Japanese porcelain seems thick and clumsy when com- 
pared with Chinese porcelain of the same period. 

The paste of the Imari commercial ware was thick, 
heavy and coarse and the body of the early Kutani porce- 
lain was greyish and seemingly composed of impure 
materials. On the other hand, the paste of the Hirado 
porcelain, with which great pains were taken, was of rich, 
fine solid quality and clean white, closely resembling 
Chinese paste. The Nabeshima body, too, which was 
carefully prepared, was of good, clean, dense texture and 
wholesome colour. Likewise, the later Kutani paste was 
milky white, though somewhat soft in substance. The 
early Arita paste with the Kakiyemon decorations was of 
a beautiful creamy white which made an admirable foil 
for the coloured enamel embellishments. The paste of the 
Owari porcelain, though milky white was of a rather soft, 
chalky nature. At several of the factories very fine egg- 
shell porcelain was made and for this purpose the paste had 
to be most carefully prepared, so that it exhibited the 
qualities we naturally look for in porcelain of an high order. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze commonly used, especially 
the glaze on the Imari commercial wares, which contained 
an appreciable quantity of lime, was almost always mi- 
nutely pitted so that it presented a semblance to fine 
muslin. It was less solid than the Chinese glaze and this 


78 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


musliny aspect from tiny bubbles seems to have been due 
to incomplete fusion. In colour it had often a cold greyish 
tinge. Its whole appearance is very different from the close 
texture and oily sheen of the Chinese glaze. By way of 
contrast, the glaze of the Hirado porcelain, made from 
more carefully prepared materials, has a velvety, lustrous 
aspect. The Nabeshima glaze and the later Kutani 
are both of good quality, though the latter shews a some- 
what dull surface. 

ArticLEs MapE Anp Contour. ‘There has never 
been as great diversity in the articles made by the Japa- 
nese as there was in porcelain of Chinese manufacture. 
While the Japanese made plates, platters, bowls, cups, 
saucers, teapots, jars and vases and, for their own use, 
such articles as incense boxes, incense burners, rice bowls, 
wine cups, and the various things required for the elab- 
orate tea ritual, they were not in the habit of making 
dinner, tea, coffee and chocolate sets, with all the etceteras 
for the Western market, as the Chinese did. There were 
also the human figures, grotesques, birds, and animals 
which were made in large numbers. 

The contours, almost without exception, are simple 
and straightforward and, to a certain extent, shew the 
influence of Chinese shapes. 

Types oF Decoration. ‘The types of decoration 
commonly practised included painting in underglaze blue, 
painting with enamel colours, gilding, ground colours, 
coloured glazes, ribbing, piercing and fretwork. The 
Japanese palette was limited to a comparatively few 
enamel colours, and nearly all of their motifs shewed 
reticence and restraint in treatment. Many of the sub- 


PLATE 28 


LARGE JAPANESE IMARI PLATTER 
Flowered and foliated border, enclosing garden scene and ‘‘long Eliza”’ figures; decoration red, dark 
blue and gold; glaze of greyish tone 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


a) 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST 79 


jects were treated in a purely conventionalised or symbolic 
form, a circumstance that rather enhanced their deco- 
rative value than otherwise. 

Religious subjects supplied not a few themes for 
decoration. ‘There were also landscapes and river scenes, 
the beloved mountain Fujiyama, animals, birds—in the 
depiction of which they were peculiarly successful— 
fishes, mythical creatures, flowers, trees and sundry 
symbols. 

The local specialities in decoration are noted in the 
section devoted to the individual factories. 

THe Marks. The marks on Japanese porcelain 
usually indicate the names of the factory and the potter. 
The name-mark of the Japanese Emperor is sometimes 
added. These marks may be incised in the paste, im- 
pressed in the paste with a seal or stamp, or painted either 
in underglaze blue or with enamel colours. Much of the 
best Japanese porcelain is altogether unmarked. The 
Japanese marks are far more to be relied upon for ac- 
curate information than are the Chinese, except the marks 
on Japanese ware made solely for export. These last are 
purely fantastic inventions. 


ARITA CHINA—1605 To PRESENT DAY 


History. This factory was established when 
Risampei, the Corean, found porcelain materials near 
Arita. Its most beautiful and famous product was the 
Kakiyemon ware (cf. Plate 51, A), named for the painter 
who devised this means of decoration in a few colours— 
iron-red sometimes verging to orange, lilac, a fine enamel 
blue, grass green, and dull gold—and with a limited range 


80 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


of motifs comprised in a sparse composition of dragons, 
phoenixes, tigers, fluttering birds, quails or partridges, 
bamboos, pines or plum trees. 

The red, blue and gold Imari ware (Plate 28), so- 
called from its place of export—was also made here, the 
patterns being largely derived from old brocades; hence 
the term “‘brocaded.”’ 

Blue and white ware, decorated chiefly with diapers 
and scrolls, was made at Arita, the underglaze blue being 
of a rather poor, muddy quality. Celadon porcelain, too, 
was produced; likewise very exquisite egg-shell porcelain, 
decorated with underglaze blue dr with enamel colours. 


NABESHIMA (OKAWACHI) CHINA—c.1660 —c.1868 


History. This factory, also in the province of 
Hizen as well as Arita, was established under the patron- 
age of the feudal lord about 1660. ‘The paste and glaze of 
this china are, in many instances, better than the paste 
and glaze of Arita. 

A type of china was made here whose decoration 
closely resembled the Kakiyemon ware of Arita. Another 
sort had decorations in underglaze blue, less brilliant than 
the Chinese blue. Celadon porcelain was likewise made. 
The favourite decorative motifs for the blue and white 
china were cherry-blossoms, hydrangeas, peonies, chrys- 
anthemums and other floral subjects, along with con- 
ventionalised birds and butterflies, in conjunction with 
conventional scrolls and diaper patterns. The ware was 
not marked but had a comb pattern encircling the foot- 
rim. This same comb pattern is sometimes seen on Kaga 
porcelain. : 


ORIENTAL CHINAWARE AND THE WEST - 81 


HIRADO (MIKAWACHI) CHINA—1712-1868 


History. This factory was established at Mika- 
wachi in the province of Hizen, under the patronage of the 
feudal lord. In 1750, Matsura, the lord of Hirado con- 
verted it into a private factory and from then until 1830 
the finest porcelain in Japan is reputed to have been made 
there. ‘The paste and glaze were of a quality far superior to 
anything produced in the other factories. 

The painted ware was decorated altogether in under- 
glaze blue and the drawing exhibited exquisite delicacy. 
Some of the ware shewed engraving and modelling in the 
paste, delicate piercings and frettings were employed, and 
egg-shell pieces were also made. Modelled figures, too, 
were fashioned and glazed with coloured glazes. 


KUTANI (KAGA) CHINA—1664-1750; 1779-1822; 1832 
TO PRESENT DAY 

History. ‘The Kutani factory in the province of 
Kaga was established by the feudal lord of Daishoji in 
1664. Several different sorts of ware were made. One was 
distinguished by a beautiful green glaze, along with soft 
greenish blue, purple and yellow glazes, disposed in scrolls, 
diapers and floral patterns over outlines traced in black 
on the biscuit. Another sort was painted with red, green, 
blue, yellow and purple enamel colours, along with silver 
and gold. Landscapes, flowers, a single bird on a twig, and 
similar naturalistic subjects (Plate 29) supplied the themes 
together with symbolical ornaments and diaper patterns. 
In still another sort, red was predominant. The decoration 
of red scrolls and diapers was disposed in panels containing 
landscapes, mythical animals and flower motifs in green, 

6 


82 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


yellow, purple and red. A subdivision of this variety had a 
red ground colour, with patterns wrought in gold, silver, 
bright green, yellow and purple. The making of these 
wares came to an end about 1750. After that date several 
revivals took place, one of which had a red ground colour 
whereon the patterns appeared in gold. 


KIOTO CHINA 


There were not a few porcelain-makers of great 
ability and good taste who flourished in Kioto at one time 
or another from the middle of the eighteenth century down 
to the end of the period with which this book deals. Eisen, 
who worked about 1760, was the first of these. ‘The wares 
they made were of excellent quality and beautiful in 
decoration, but as none of their products exercised a 
material influence on chinaware in the Western World, 
the reader desirous of pursuing the subject further is 
referred to books treating especially of Japanese porcelains. 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 


MEDICI CHINA 
FLORENCE—1580-1613 (?) 

History. Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of 
Tuscany, in 1580 established at Florence a manufacture of 
soft paste porcelain. The factory was in the Boboli 
Gardens. Bernardo Buontalenti played an active part in 
this undertaking, and it is said that soon after its incep- 
tion porcelain vases and other articles, of the finest quality, 
were produced and decorated in blue. This was the first 
European porcelain of which we have any certain knowl- 
edge and of which undoubtedly authentic examples exist. 

Fewer than fifty authentic pieces are now known to 
be in existence. These comprise vases, dishes, bowls, 
(Plate 30), plates, cruets, bottles, flasks, basons and 
ewers. They are all in museums or else in well-known 
private collections. 

The mark, painted in blue, consists of the dome of 
the Cathedral in Florence, above a capital F, occasionally 
with slight additions or variations. 

The manufacture was discontinued in the early years 
of the seventeenth century. 


83 


84 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


GINORI OR DOCCIA CHINA 
DOCCIA, BY SESTO, NEAR FLORENCE—1735 To pPresENT DAY 


History. The Marchese Carlo Ginori, in 1735, 
founded the porcelain factory at Doccia, an estate be- 
longing to his family at Sesto, about six miles from 
Florence. As a Tuscan, he had all the initiative, readiness, 
for enquiry and hard-headed common-sense character- 
istic of his race. Endowed with both energy and tenacity 
of purpose, he chose to follow the old Tuscan tradition 
that strongly sanctioned mercantile, industrial and agri- 
cultural activities on the part of the nobility. Through 
application and diligence he occupied a prominent position 
in Florentine affairs and became a senator. As part of the 
services he rendered the State there were sundry special 
commissions, entrusted to him in view of his sterling 
capacity, public spirit, and the confidence reposed in him 
by the Grand Duke. 

At one time he was engaged in reclaiming a part of the 
Maremma, a formidable task that meant draining a 
section of the waste, malarial marsh lands and converting 
them to purposes of productive farming. This involved 
much canal cutting, road making, bridge building, the 
planting of settlers from various quarters, and the estab- 
lishment and care of divers industries. Along the coast, 
he exerted himself to develope coral fisheries, attracting 
thither Neapolitans skilled in their conduct. By well 
directed efforts he also materially furthered the interests of 
Tuscan shipping. 

In one place, where the conditions seemed suitable, 
he introduced Angora goats, hoping to promote the manu- 

- facture of cashmere shawls. What measure of success 


PLATE 29 


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AYNINGAD HINGALHOIA -aSVA r 
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SUOTJIOOIP . {NO PUL SPISUI SUOT}VIOIIP IIMOY 9UTOIYOATOd YAT MA 


AANLINAO 
HLINGALHOIY -IMOd GCACIS-LHDIA ASANVdV[ ‘VY 


PLATE 30 


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aur} YSIN{q YSIS YIM AXeM PUP 4JjOs 9zeI[B 
AUNLINGAOD HINGALXIS ALVT 


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*‘VNIHO IDIGAW AO TIMOE 


Geeconooiaeseene te 


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‘useis pue Aljeq{nu jo syoorjIns Y4IM ‘ult Jo a8pa ye SUIpjnow pastes A] SIs :oysed AxeM poinojoo-urvaI9g 


VIOO0d LV 


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LoL 


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UaLLVId IMONIO 


PLATE 32 


A. GINORI ICE PAIL, c.1760 


Waxy paste, clear glaze; polychrome flower sprays scattered in Dresden manner, rose 
mulberry band at rim 


B, GINORI SOUP PLATE, c.1760 


Shaped rim with pineapple or basketwork moulded ornament and moulded ribbings 
polychrome flowers in Mennecy manner, with scattered flowers and fruits in centre 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 85 


rewarded this venture we know not, but the attempt was 
indicative of Ginori’s alertness and determination to make 
the most of every opportunity for improvement that 
offered. While Governour of Livorno—he had then 
embarked on his porcelain-making experiments—at his 
own expense he sent a ship to the East Indies expressly to 
fetch some of the clay and other materials used by the 
Chinese in making porcelain. 

The Marchese Ginori was a man of cultivated tastes 
and was readily susceptible to the ‘‘China-mania”’ that 
had taken Europe by storm. He was also blessed with pre- 
vision or prophetic imagination. Whether his ambition 
was fired by the memory and knowledge of the Medici 
porcelain, previously made in Florence, and by a laudable 
desire to renew and develope in his native country an 
enterprise so gratifying to his sense of beauty, or whether, 
as a result of his enquiries and observations, convinced 
that Italy possessed the materials requisite for an indus- 
try he foresaw would have a fruitful issue, it is impossible 
to say. In all likelihood both motives played a part in 
forming his ultimate determination. At all events, he set 
up his kilns and started the making of porcelain at Doccia. 
Quite apart from the character of the chinaware produced, 
the success of this establishment, which has continued in 
active operation to the present day, is remarkable because 
it was never assisted by Government subsidies or patron- 
age as were so many other ventures of a like sort in other 
countries, with the exception of England and America. 

Going to Vienna on a diplomatic mission, in 1737, the 
Marchese Ginori there met Karl Wandhelein, a chemist 
who had previously had some considerable experience in 
the manufacture of porcelain. Him Ginori engaged to 


86 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


come to Doccia and direct the nascent industry on which 
he had embarked two years before. Along with Wandhe- 
lein it is said—apparently with sufficient foundation— 
there came to Doccia one or more artists from Vienna or 
Saxony. Even the very early products shew the presence 
of someone experienced in design. Both the founder and 
his successors made it a point not only to have the ordinary 
workmen trained in modelling and decoration, but also to 
have their children taught these arts as well so that the 
traditions of the factory might pass on from generation to 
generation. In a way Doccia was really a little school of 
industrial art. Whoever the first modellers and decorators 
may have been, they were followed by a series of experts as 
competent as we should expect Florence to produce. The 
factory museum at Doccia, in which there is a complete 
chronologically arranged record of production, testifies to 
the prowess of these assistants. 


Wandhelein appears to have been a capable director 


and in due time, though not until many costly experi- 
ments had been tried, the factory was enabled to place its 
products on a commercial basis. It has been said that 
eighteen years elapsed before the venture began to bring 
in any appreciable returns of profit. This statement, 
however, altogether lacks authentic substantiation. What- 
ever difficulties may or may not have had to be sur- 
mounted, this we know—the industry, from the very 
outset, was supported by the enterprise, energy and 
enthusiasm of Ginori alone. 

The china made at Doccia exhibited many phases of 
style and decoration and in nearly all of them it is possible 
to recognise easily the sources of inspiration in different 
sorts of china made elsewhere. Some of the influence is 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 87 


distinctly Chinese, as was the case in nearly all china 
factories during much of the eighteenth century. This was 
natural for the art of chinaware was essentially a Chinese 
art and it was to be expected that Chinese precedents 
should be held in high esteem. Besides, the china art is an 
imitative art. Even the Chinese copied or adapted many 
of their early porcelain forms from bronze, brass and other 
metal shapes and, despite their proverbial conservatism, 
in much of their later ware they did not scruple to make 
use of elements derived from outside sources. Again, many 
of the influences to be discerned in the Ginori china are 
plainly of European origin. The Doccia factory was 
founded about ten years before Bow and Chelsea, five or 
six years before Vincennes, and only a few years later than 
St. Cloud and Chantilly, yet the impulses received from 
the greater French porcelain factories and some of those in 
England can be detected without difficulty, to say nothing 
of the strains derived from Dresden and Vienna. In re- 
garding this reflex action exerted upon the output of 
Doccia by the work of other factories we must, however, 
remember this. ‘Through former centuries Italy had 
lavishly supplied other countries with inspiration in all 
the arts; the eighteenth century was pre-eminently a 
period of borrowing back the commodity she had so freely 
given forth aforetime. Nevertheless, Italian hands always 
managed to give an individual twist of interpretation to 
borrowed motifs, imparting a distinctly national flavour. 
So it was in the making of Ginori china, and in this char- 
acteristic lies much of its charm. Again and again we find 
a strongly individual adaptation of several distinctive 
methods of borrowed decoration combined on one piece. 
Early in the nineteenth century the Ginori family 


88 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


bought many of the moulds from the Capo di Monte 
factory, at Naples, along with the right to use the Capo di 
Monte mark on reproductions made from these moulds. 

The Doccia factory until a recent period remained 
wholly under the control of the Ginori family. Since a 
corporation was formed and an amalgamation effected 
with the Richard company, of Milano, the Ginori family 
have retained a controlling interest. 

Tue Bopy. During the early years, the body or 
paste used was what they called masso bastardo, a compo- 
sition which Brongniart places amongst the “hybrid” or 
soft pastes, apparently taking exception to the quantity of 
magnesia and the clay of Monte Carlo. In speaking of the 
kaolins of Campo and Chiusi, near Porto Ferraio on the 
Island of Elba, he notes that they are talc clays rather 
than true kaolins. He therefore designates the early 
Ginori china “hybrid” or soft paste porcelain, reserving 
the term “true” or hard paste porcelain for the later prod- 
ucts. Although Brongniart is loath to count the masso 
bastardo as hard paste, nevertheless it was certainly not 
soft paste in the French sense nor the ‘‘bone”’ porcelain 
made in England. From the very start, Doccia followed 
the hard paste ideals of Dresden and Vienna, and there 
was never a distinct period of soft paste development as 
there was in France. Whatever may have been the imper- 
fections of materials and composition, judged by Dresden 
standards, the masso bastardo seems to have been as 
“true” porcelain as some of the old Chinese bodies that 
have always been accounted hard paste. 

The cost of importing clays and minerals from Ger- 
many would have been prohibitive; the Ginori factory, 
therefore, used native materials as closely as possible 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 89 


approximating the qualities of the kaolin and felspar used 
at Dresden. The paste made from these materials had a 
slightly greyish tone and a smooth texture. 

When the deposits of kaolin and felspar were found 
at St. Yrieix in the south of France, these materials were 
used and the paste became a pure white. Since that date 
the characteristic Doccia paste has been white, hard, 
translucent and resonant. 

Tue GuazeE. The early glaze was soft, unctuous and 
exceedingly mellow, but not always evenly distributed, 
sometimes shewing a tendency torun. The later glaze was 
clear, brilliant and absolutely even in distribution, both 
glaze and body being technically perfect. 

ArticLeEs MapeE anp Contour. Almost from the 
outset Doccia has made all manner of tableware, vases of 
all sorts, candlesticks, sconces, all the various accessories 
for writing and dressing tables and figures and groups in 
biscuit. About the middle of the eighteenth century 
flowers were extensively modelled and naturalistically 
coloured. As the century advanced the pieces in biscuit 
were not confined to busts, figures and groups, but clock 
cases, table garnitures, vases and many other items were 
fashioned in the same substance. 

The contours during the early days were to a great 
extent of Rococo type (Plate 33, B), with occasional in- 
terpretations of Oriental shapes. From about 1765 onward 
the contours were predominantly of Neo-Classic inspira- 
tion (Plate 35), while at the end of the century and in 
the fore part of the nineteenth the shapes shewed the 
impress of Neo-Grec and Empire styles. 

Types oF Decoration. At an early date in its 
history Doccia was using a varied array of decorative 


90 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


processes—moulding (Plate 32, B), modelling (Plate 33, B) 
in relief, painting in underglaze blue and with enamel 
colours on the glaze, and gilding. The decorative motifs 
and methods were in part Oriental (Plate 33, A), as they 
were in nearly every European porcelain factory at some 
period of its career, in part taken from the types in vogue 
at Dresden (Plate 32, B), Sévres, Vienna, Worcester, 
Naples (Plate 36, B), and other factories whence pro- 
nounced styles had issued from time to time. So many 
sources of inspiration were drawn from that it would be 
hard to fix upon any one style as peculiarly characteristic. 

In the earliest Doccia period, from 1735 to 1765, some 
of the china had no coloured decoration at all (Plate 33, B), 
or else only reddish brown lines on the edges of rims. From 
the first, underglaze blue decoration was used, often with 
Chinese floral motifs. On-glaze colours very soon made 
their appearance, and the reds, rose, light apple-green, 
and mulberry were especially good. The first piece made at 
Doccia with polychrome decoration dates (Plate 31) 
from 1737 and is an oval platter with a narrow guilloche 
of deep mulberry and light green at the edge of the rim, 
a narrow band of orange next, then sprays of flowers on 
the broad rim; the central subject is a turbanned Turk 
with purple overrobe, green sleeves and coral-red under- 
robe, with an equally polychrome cock on the grass beside 
him. To this period also belong the first polychrome floral 
decorations in the manners of Chantilly (Plate 32, A), 
and Dresden; there were likewise gaily-coloured Tyrolese 
motifs, rather crudely rendered. Prunus blossoms and 
sprigs modelled in relief, inspired by the Fuchien white 
ware, adorned some of the early pieces without coloured 
decorations. Now and then these reliefs were accentuated 


Og aT 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE gI 


with colour and gilding. A few of the early prunus blossom 
reliefs were emphasised with colour schemes of gold, 
red and black on the plain white surface. Modelled 
flowers, fruits, birds, leaves, and animal heads, in an 
wholly European manner, were commonly applied as 
handles and knobs and accented with colour. There were 
perforations and fretwork for fruit baskets and stands, 
while not a few plates and platters were embellished with 
moulded impressions of basketwork (Plate 32, B), and 
floral patterns on the rims. 

In the second period, 1765 to 1780, we note the 
Dresden and Chantilly flowers (Plate 32, A), a reversion 
to Chinese peony (Plate 33, A) and chrysanthemum 
subjects, the appearance of Wedgwood cameos and 
medallions (Plate 36, A), reflections of the current Sévres 
manner, polychrome flowers recalling those of Mennecy 
(Plate 39, A), and Sceaux, and not seldom may be seen 
two or three methods happily combined in the decoration 
of one piece. 

From 1780 to 1815 Neo-classic motifs (Plates 35 and 
36, B) were very much in the ascendant, with a strong 
trend towards the Pompeian and Etruscan types of the 
Capo di Monte china. Ground colours were more fre- 
quent, sometimes several of them in combination; vertical 
stripes, geometrical figured bands, coral-red bands dotted 
with gold, on pieces otherwise without decoration; Sevres 
corn flowers, reserved panels on ground colours, with 
flowers, fruits, figures, birds or landscapes; ribbon and 
flower patterns; polychrome landscapes and landscapes 
en camaieu (Plate 38); rims with heavy ground colours 
overlaid with rich gilding in Classic motifs, and surround- 
ing elaborate architectural subjects (Plate 34), or mytho- 


92 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


logical motifs; a prevalence of Pompeian and Etruscan 
features; and a more lavish use of gilding are the char- 
acteristics that especially mark this period. 

Tue Marks. The marks used at the Doccia factory 
varied more or less at different periods. That of most 
common occurrence was the six-pointed star in one form or 
another. The six-pointed star and the star with many 
points are usually in red; the double triangle, which is 
really a variant of the six-pointed star, is often in gold on 
the finest pieces; the mullet with the double triangle may 
be found in blue or gold on pieces of exceptional quality. 
Capo di Monte reproductions, made from the purchased 
Capo di Monte moulds, bear the crowned N of Capo 
di Monte. 


Mex = & Ne 


VENICE CHINA 
VEZZI, 1720-1740; COZZI, 1764-1812 

History. The first successful attempt to make 
porcelain in Europe is believed to have been in Venice 
about 1470. It is recorded that a certain Maestro Antonio, 
an alchemist, made bowls, vases and other small articles 
which were said to be of a very light and translucent porce- 
lain, quite as good as, or even superior to, the porcelain of 
“Barbary.” In 1508 a payment is recorded for seven 
bowls of porcellana contrafacta, which evidently means 
imitation porcelain. It is more than likely that this ware 
made by Maestro Antonio was soft paste porcelain. None 
of it is known to exist; nothing further is known of its mak- 
ing. The earliest European porcelain of which visible evi- 
dences remain was the Medici porcelain made in Florence. 


PLATE 33 


Memo NOR OVAL SPLAT LER: 1. 1775 


Shaped moulded rim; Chinese peony decoration with prevailing red, blue and gold 


B. GINORI COVERED DISH, 1770 


Without coloured decoration, cream-coloured waxy paste, clear glaze; Louis XV. contour shew- 
ing Rococo influence, moulded pineapple or basketwork ornament about rim, and moulded 
gadrooning; delicately modelled flowers, leaves and stems applied 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


PLATE 34 


A. GINORI PLATE, ¢1815 
Very hard, white body, clear glaze; ground of rim a deep red, charged 
with elaborate gilt decoration in French Empire motifs 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


B. GINORI PLATE c.1780 
Shaped moulded rim; paste hard and white; decoration of Oriental 
origin, chiefly in red, blue and gold 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


PLATE 35 


e1000q |" Wnasnyy AIOJOVY Jo Asa4indd 


JOUUeW UBITEY] OL4St 
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‘SssUIpUeq ZYOO][Ins pue UOl][epeu [eAO Ur Uses ssjndut 


06210 “LOd ULV IOVOHO LHONID) a 


JISSEID 


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0oL1°9 ‘UavVf YO ASVA GCAdVHS-NUA IMONID ‘V 


PIA TE 36 


A. GINORI SWEETMEAT DISH, c.1780 


Wedgwood influence in central medallion, scattered polychrome flowers and fruits in Dresden 
manner; hard, white paste, clear glaze 


B. GINORI TUREEN ON LEGS, c.1780 


Paste hard, slightly creamy in colour; Neo-Classic influence seen in oval shape, straight, fluted legs and 
collared feet 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 93 


The next venture at porcelain making in Venice was 
in the eighteenth century. The brothers Vezzi, wealthy 
goldsmiths, had acquired patents of nobility. Having 
determined to establish an hard paste porcelain factory, 
in association with two other Venetians of rank, they 
employed Christoph Conrad Hunger as director and began 
operations in 1720. Hunger had previously worked at 
Dresden and at Vienna, and had the reputation of being 
the ablest porcelain expert of the day. Some workmen 
from Dresden are also believed to have been employed. 
The kaolin for the Vezzi china is said to have been brought 
from Saxony, but this seems highly improbable. The 
chinaware made was of very superior quality and closely 
resembled the wares of Dresden. Francesco Vezzi died in 
1740 and the factory was discontinued. 

From 1758 to 1763 there appears to have been a small 
porcelain factory conducted by a man named Hewelche 
and his wife, supposed to have come from Dresden. Little 
is known about this undertaking, and virtually nothing 
can be stated with certainty. 

In 1764 Geminiano Cozzi established a soft paste 
porcelain factory near San Giobbe in Venice and made 
a great variety of beautiful wares. The enterprise proved 
a great commercial success and the factory did a 
flourishing business until 1812, when it was discontinued. 

Tue Bopy. The hard paste of the Vezzi china was 
never a cold staring white, but of a somewhat warmer, 
creamier tone than Dresden china. It was, too, a little 
more glassy in appearance. Soft paste was also made by 
the Vezzi. The soft paste of the Cozzi had a slightly 
greyish tinge. 


94 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Giaze. The Vezzi glaze was good, clear and 
very like that of Dresden. The Cozzi glaze was of excel- 
lent quality, but more satin-like and mellow. 

ArticLeEs MapE anp Contour. ‘The articles made 
at the Vezzi factory included not only the usual varieties 
of tableware, vases, flower pots and other ornamental 
objects, but also a number of figures and statuettes. Dur- 
ing the term of Hunger’s directorship, 1720 to 1725, the 
contours closely followed Dresden precedents. After 
Hunger’s departure, the Dresden lead was less closely fol- 
lowed and the contours became more florid and more 
characteristic of the mid-eighteenth century Venetian 
phase of the Rococo manner. 

The Cozzi factory also produced an highly diversified 
range of wares, over and above the usual table services 
and kindred articles of universal demand. Figures and 
groups, both glazed and painted, and also in the biscuit, 
were regularly made. By the time the Cozzi factory 
started, 1764, the excesses of Rococo design had passed so 
that the contours chiefly reflected the Neo-Classic trend, 
but with that mellowness and occasional whimsicality 
often imparted by Italian hands. 

Types oF Decoration. At the Vezzi factory, 
moulded or impressed ornament, modelled and applied or- 
nament, pierced ornament, painting in underglaze blue 
and with on-glaze enamel colours, and gilding were all 
constantly used. The motifs were commonly figures, 
flowers (Plate 42), landscapes, harbour scenes, country 
scenes, birds, monkeys, and scrolls. Oriental motifs were 
often employed and were sometimes curiously blended 
with Venetian motifs. During the late period an iron-red 
was a favourite colour, although underglaze blue and a 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 95 


full palette of enamel colours, along with gilding, were in 
use throughout the entire period of the factory’s existence. 

At the Cozzi factory, all the same decorative proc- 
esses were in use. The motifs were in large measure the 
Neo-Classic versions of those mentioned in connexion 
with the Vezzi factory, and other purely Classic devices 
pertaining especially to the later period, although some 
pronounced chinotseries were still used, the taste for which 
seems to have lingered. In colour, there was a predilection 
for iron-red by itself, although all colours were in general 
use. Some of the decorations were in gold alone. The 
gilding done at the Cozzi factory was especially fine. 

Tue Marks. During the period of Hunger’s di- 
rectorship at the Vezzi factory, 1720-1725 the pieces were 
unmarked. From 1725 to 1740 the mark in red or blue 
varied from “‘V” to “Venezia”’ with all manner of inter- 
mediate abbreviations. ‘The mark of the Cozzi factory 
was an anchor drawn in red, blue, or gold, sometimes with 
the painter’s initials above it. It is possible that the letter 
*“C” may also have been used. 


mee Nt SY. AG: 2 


CAPO DI MONTE CHINA—1743-1821 
CAPO DI MONTE—1743-1759 
PORTICI—1771-1773 
NAPLES—1773-1821 
History. The Capo di Monte porcelain factory 
was established by Charles III, King of Naples, and in- 
stalled in the palace of Capo di Monte in 1743, where it 
continued in operation till 1759, when Charles III suc- 
ceeded to the throne of Spain and left Naples. This 


96 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


porcelain factory was a matter of the deepest interest to 
the King, and tradition says that he often worked in it 
with his own hands. At the annual fair, in the piazza 
before the palace, the products of the factory had a special 
stall and the King was furnished daily with a list of the 
sales made and the names of the purchasers. When 
Charles left Naples in 1759 he took with him to Madrid 
the best models and moulds, and about forty of the most 
skillful workmen. 

From 1759 to 1771 operations were suspended. Then 
King Ferdinand IV re-established the works in the Villa 
Reale at Portici. In 1773 the factory was again moved 
and set up in Naples, where it continued to work under 
State direction and support until 1807, when it was sold to 
acompany. It was closed in 1821. 

Tue Bopy. During the first period, only soft paste 
porcelain was made, and the body was yellowish, greenish, 
bluish or dead grey.in tone, the colour shewing con- 
siderable variation. The tinge was not always pronounced, 
and the ware was translucent. 

From 1771 to about 1806 both soft and hard paste 
bodies were used. After 1806, or thereabouts, only hard 
paste was produced. The hard paste was pure white, 
hard, translucent and generally of excellent quality. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze of the soft paste was soft, 
rich and satin-like to sight and touch. The hard paste 
glaze was clear and brilliant without being glittering. 

ArticLEs MapE anp Contour. The common im- 
pression of Capo di Monte china is onesided and quite 
erroneous. People ordinarily think of it as a sort of ware 
much over-decorated with small figures modelled in high 
relief (Plate 40, A), and further accentuated by lavish 


a a 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 97 


gilding and vigorous colouring in which pink, rose and 
purple are dominant. This manner of ware was peculiar 
to Capo di Monte, it is true, but it was by no means the 
only thing made there. A few of the pieces responsible for 
this impression may be genuine, but most of those ordi- 
narily met with are counterfeits, manufactured by the 
gross to sell to gullible tourists. And by no means all of 
these counterfeits are made in Italy. As a matter of fact, 
a great many other and very different things were made at 
the royal factory, but unfortunately they are almost 
altogether unknown. 

During the first period, besides tableware, vases, jars, 
flower pots, sconces and the like, there were made numbers 
of small snuff-boxes, patch-boxes, inkstands and similar 
articles on which it was possible to lavish the modelled 
and highly coloured decoration just mentioned—the 
kind of decoration that ninety-nine people out of an 
hundred associate with the name of Capo di Monte. 
Then, too, special pieces such as consoles, mirror-frames, 
clock-cases and chandeliers were made. All of these crea- 
tions were agreeable to the Rococo taste of the age and 
were generally of more or less pronounced Rococo contours. 

During the second period a number of biscuit pieces 
were put forth in addition to the wares previously enu- 
merated. The contours, especially in the case of tableware 
and vases, became far more restrained and shewed the 
increasing influence of Neo-Classic conception. Painted 
decoration on the flat surface began visibly to triumph 
over applied modelling. 

During the last period, when the factory was in 
Naples, all the preceding wares were made in considerable 


quantity, but there was a tendency to increase and 
7 


98 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


emphasise the production of biscuit pieces. With Pompeii 
and Herculaneum as immediate sources of inspiration at 
the very doors, it is not surprising to find the Classic trend 
in contour becoming more and more pronounced. 

Types oF Decoration. Both for painted decoration 
and for decoration modelled and applied, we find great 
plenty of marine motifs—shells, dolphins, periwinkles, 
coral, fishes and the like. It has been suggested that some 
of these popular shell forms more than likely inspired the 
shell salt-cellars not long afterwards made at Bow. There 
is certainly a striking similarity between the Bow shell 
salt-cellars in plain white and the plain white shell forms 
made at Naples. Not a little of the early Capo di Monte 
china was wholly without colour; the modelled forms were 
not suggested by the white ware of Fuchien, but the 
general type probably was. Some of the white undecorated 
pieces, without modelled and applied ornament, are very 
simple and exhibit much dignity and charm of contour. 

A number of pieces were painted with Oriental motifs 
interpreted in a very European manner. These were soon 
succeeded by unmistakably European themes in the way 
of natural flowers, fruits, birds, figures, pastorals, love 
scenes, landscapes and harbour scenes. Oftentimes the 
decorations were painted en camaieu, crimson, bluish- 
violet and black being especially favoured for this purpose. 
Small landscapes and harbour scenes were often thus 
rendered in monochrome, either enclosed within panels 
and medallions or unenclosed. 

Towards the latter part of the century and in the 
early years of the nineteenth two strong tendencies became 
apparent—first, a disposition to substitute painting and 
colour on a flat surface, whether in the form of ground 


PLATE 39 


A. SCEAUX ICE-PAIL, POLYCHROME FLOWER DECORATION 
Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


B. GINORI OVAL PLATTER, c.1760 


Shaped moulded rim, polychrome flower decoration in manner of Mennecy 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE 99 


colours, carefully executed Classic motifs or landscapes 
and harbour scenes of a general character, for modelled, 
applied and coloured ornament; second, a pronounced 
bias in favour of the moitzfs directly derived from Pompeii 
and Herculaneum (Plate 40, B). To the latter tendency 
we are indebted for the so-called “‘ Pompeian”’ china which 
supplied an impulse felt throughout Europe. The cameos 
and medallions were rendered with exquisite taste, and 
these as well as the arabesques exercised a profound in- 
fluence on the china decoration of the age. From the time 
the factory was transferred to Naples, the revived Classic 
style in both contour and decoration was followed almost 
exclusively. ‘There were also many local incidents of sea 
and mountain, including the various moods of Vesuvius, 
introduced into the decoration. Grey, green, blue, yellow 
and Pompeian red were some of the ground colours much 
used and these, sometimes along with touches of black, 
afforded admirable foils for Classic subjects in panels and 
medallions, or for the reserved panels enclosing flowers, 
birds, country scenes or harbour views. The gilding was 
always notably good. 

Tue Marks. During the first period the mark was 
the Bourbon fleur-de-lys, impressed in the paste or 
painted in blue. It was also occasionally applied in red or 
gold. In the later periods the mark was “N”’, usually sur- 
mounted by a crown, but sometimes without. It was com- 
monly in blue, but now and again it occurred in red or else 
impressed in the paste. While the factory was at Portici 
the marks “R. F.” and “F. R. F.”’ occur. The genuine 
Capo di Monte ware with modelled and applied figures is 
generally unmarked, and the flesh tints are exquisitely 


100 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


soft; the Ginori reproductions of the same ware are 
usually marked with the crowned “‘N” or otherwise and 
the flesh tints have a stippled appearance. 


mw eK N 


LE NOVE CHINA—1762-1835 


History. In 1761 or 1762 Pasquale Antonibon 
began to make soft paste porcelain at Nove, near Bassano, 
in his faience factory. Antonibon had the fortunate 
faculty of being able to attract men of talent to work with 
him, and the results of this are manifest in the china. The 
Antonibons, father and son, made soft-paste porcelain 
until 1802, when the factory passed out of their hands 
till 1825. The factory then reverted to the former owners 
and they continued to produce porcelain till 1835. After 
that time only faience and divers other sorts of earthen- 
ware were made. 

The chinaware issuing from the Nove factory pos- 
sesses great artistic distinction (Plate 41). The paste was 
a beautiful creamy white and the glaze was mellow and 
clear. There was great diversity in the matter of decora- 
tion. The jardiniére illustrated (Plate 41), is clearly in the 
manner of Sévres. Flower decorations are numerous, often- 
times in polychrome, occasionally in green and gold, now 
and again in purple. Ground colours were used very fre- 
quently and were always good. Birds, landscapes, Classi- 
cal and mythological subjects likewise appear as motifs. 
The factory is said to have made figures in biscuit. 

The mark was ‘‘ Nove,” either with or without a six- 


PLATE 37 


e10990q ev wWnesny AIO" 30 ASojINOD 


UOTJeIODAp swOIYdAIO [eIZI1ed *BZul]japow azisinbxo 
SLL1°9 ‘SHUNOIA TYONIO 


$eZe[s Mead ‘ajsed ozIyM AWIvIID 
‘d GNV 'V 


Y 


PLATE 38 


A. AND B. GINORI CUPS AND SAUCERS, c.1765 
Decorations en camareu 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


C. GINORI REPRODUCTION OF 
CAPO DI MONTE FIGURE 


From Capo di Monte mould; flesh tints 
and partial coloured decoration 


Courtesy of Factory Museum at Doccia 


ITALIAN CHINAWARE IOI 


pointed star in blue or red or, sometimes, in gold. Occa- 
sionally the star occurs without the name. Some of the 
Nove China, between 1802 and 1825 when the factory 
was in the hands of Giovanni Baroni, has the initials 
“G. B.” above the name ‘‘Nove.” 


kK k GB 


NOVE 


VINOVO CHINA—1776-1820 


History. With the assistance of Pierre Antoine 
Hannong of Strasburg, Giovanni Brodel established an 
hard paste porcelain factory at Vinovo, near Torino, in 
1776. Brodel found Hannong a most difficult person to 
work with and retired from the business in 1778. In 1780 
it was sold to Dr. Gioanetti, an eminent chemist. Under 
him the factory produced a considerable quantity of 
china up to 1815, when Dr. Gioanetti died. Under his 
successor the business declined so rapidly that the factory 
was closed in 1820. 

The paste at first was of a yellowish tone and the 
glaze was often defective; the later ware was of fine grain 
and had an excellent white glaze. The decorations, though 
not distinguished, were pleasing and the colours were good. 
Flowers, polychrome and monochrome, garlands and 
ribbons, medallions, landscapes, flowers and arabesques 
in gold, and numerous motifs of Classic provenance make 
up the repertoire. In general style the Vinovo china re- 
sembled the wares of the independent Parisian factories 
of the late eighteenth century. 

The mark was ‘‘V” with a cross spate it, in either 
underglaze blue or on-glaze blue; occasionally the mark 


1o2 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


was incised, or else applied in black, brown, red, or gold. 
In exceptional cases the ““V”’ may be omitted or the cross 


may be omitted. - 
OO ae 


ROME PORCELAIN—1790-1831 


History. The hard paste porcelain made by Gio- 
vanni Volpato at Rome from 1790 to 1831 was restricted 
to groups and figures in biscuit. ‘They were copies from 
antiques and the sculptures of Canova. 


TREVISO AND ESTE CHINA 


History. At Este, between Padova and Ferrara, a 
soft paste porcelain factory was established in 1780 which 
made both tableware and figures in biscuit. Little is 
known about it, but the few pieces that can be traced to 
Este display merit. ‘The Este mark may be the word “‘Este”’ 
accompanied by a date or may be of the form shewn in 
the cut. 

In the latter part of the eighteenth century a small 
quantity of soft paste porcelain was made at Treviso, 
consisting mostly of tableware. The pieces are marked 
“Treviso” with G.A.F.F., or F.F., in addition. 


ONE 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 
ROUEN CHINA—1673-1696 


History. The earliest manufacture of porcelain in 
France, of which we have any reasonably sure knowledge, 
was that established under letters-patent by Louis 
Poterat in 1673 at Rouen. 

In 1664, it is true, Louis XIV had granted to Charles 
Reverend a patent for the making of porcelain in Paris, 
and there are several allusions in works of the time ap- 
parently indicating that in or near Paris attempts to pro- 
duce porcelain were made before 1670. There are several 
specimens of early work, too, which it seems impossible 
to identify as the products of either Rouen or St. Cloud. 
These seem to indicate the existence of a short-lived enter- 
prise whose records have been lost. It is, therefore, the 
manufacture inaugurated by Poterat at Rouen that we 
must regard as the first authenticated production of 
porcelain in France. 

The letters-patent issued to Poterat in 1673 granted 
him an ‘‘exclusive monopoly for the fabrication of plates 
and dishes, pots, and vases of porcelain like that of China 

. for the period of thirty years.” This privilege 
was conferred in consideration of his foreign travels and 
diligent application whereby he had mastered the techni- 
cal secrets enabling him to establish a new industry in 
France. An official report, made at the instance of M. de 


Pontchartrain in 1694, discloses the facts that porcelain 
103 


104 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


was made at the factories of both Louis Poterat and his 
father; that the works were well kept; and that although 
they possessed the secret of making porcelain, very little of 
it was made, most of the output consisting of faience. Louis 
Poterat died in 1696 and the conduct of the works then fell 
to his brother. The latter, however, seems to have been 
incapable of continuing the business successfully and the 
making of Rouen porcelain was discontinued. 

The Rouen china was soft paste porcelain and the 
body, of a rich, creamy quality, has a slightly greenish 
hue. The glaze is less “glassy” in appearance than the 
glaze of much other soft paste porcelain and exhibits a 
very pale sea-green tinge. 

There are only about fifty pieces of Rouen china 
known to be in existence, and almost all of these are 
decorated altogether in blue, although a few specimens 
exhibit other colours in combination. One piece in the 
museum at Rouen shows a decoration in blue, green and 
red. The blue is darker, denser and often greyer than the 
blue usually seen on other early soft paste porcelains, and 
the colour seems to have been applied not under the glaze 
but on the raw glaze before it was fired. 

It is noteworthy that the decorations were invariably 
in the contemporary French manner of ornament that 
characterised the reign of Louis XIV. It is all the more 
remarkable that no motifs of direct Chinese provenance 
occur when we remember that the making of porcelain 
was an openly avowed imitation of Chinese methods, was 
stimulated by Chinese examples, and that in nearly every 
other case Chinese types of decoration were borrowed and 
applied without hesitation. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 105 


SAINT CLOUD CHINAWARE—c.1696-c.1773 (?) 


History. “I saw the potterie of St. Clou, with which I was 
marvellously well pleased, for I confess I could not distinguish be- 
twixt the pots made there and the finest China ware I ever saw. It 
will, I know, be easily granted me that the painting may be better 
designed and finished (as indeed it was) because our men are far better 
masters of that art than the Chineses; but the glazing came not in the 
least behind theirs, not for whiteness, nor the smoothness of running 
without bubbles. Again, the inward substance and matter of the pots 
was, to me, the very same, hard and firm as marble, and the self- 
same grain on this side vitrification. Farther the transparency of the 
pots the very same. .... I did not expect to have found it in this 
perfection, but imagined this might have arrived at the Gomron ware; 
which is, indeed, little else but a total vitrification, but I found it far 
otherwise and very surprising, and which I account part of the felicity 
of the age to equal if not surpass the Chineses in their finest art. 

They sold these pots at St. Clou at excessive rates, and for their 
ordinary chocolate cups askt crowns a-piece. They had arrived at 
the burning on gold in neat chequere works. He had sold some tea 
equipages at 100 livres a sett. There was no moulding or model of 
China ware which they had not imitated, and had added many 
fancies of their own, which had their good effects and appeared 
very beautiful.” 

Account of a Journey to Paris in the Year 1698, by Doctor Martin 
Lister, published in London, 1699. 


Besides this testimony to the merits and charms of 
Saint Cloud chinaware by the eminent Doctor Lister, who 
had accompanied the Duke of Portland to Paris on a dip- 
lomatic mission and was afterwards physician to Queen 
Anne, there is the witness of royal interest in the works and 
appreciation of its products. Le Mercure Galant, in 
October 1700, contains this notice: 


“T have forgotten to write to you that the Duchesse de Bour- 
gogne, when she had passed through St. Cloud and turned along the 


106 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


riverside to visit Madame la Duchesse de Guiche, made her carriage 
stop at the door of the house where the MM. Chicanneau have had 
established for some years now a manufactory of fine porcelain, which 
without doubt has not its like in all Europe. The princess found 
pleasure in seeing several pieces of very good shape made on the wheel. 
She saw some others painted in patterns that were more regular and 
better done than those of the Indian porcelain. Then she went to see 
the faiences being made in the manufactory, and afterwards MM. 
Chicanneau conducted her into their office, where she saw quantities 
of fine and beautiful porcelains in their perfection, with which she was 
so pleased that she promised to come again. She did not leave without 
shewing her satisfaction by the gratuities she gave to the workmen.” 


Established as it was under the shadow of the 
Chateau de Saint Cloud, the factory seems not only to 
have enjoyed a measure of interest and patronage from the 
Duc d’Orléans, but also to have attracted not a little 
favourable notice from the King and the great personages 
of the Court on their comings and goings between Ver- 
sailles and Paris, and its success in a commercial sense was 
probably due in large measure to these advantageous 
circumstances. 

The establishment at Saint Cloud began, it appears, 
as a faience factory. By 1670 it was important enough to 
be given a large commission for orange pots and flower 
vases for the gardens of Versailles, as well as being called 
upon to supply numerous other decorative requisites 
from time to time. Its wares justly deserved their high 
reputation. 

Antiquarian research has discovered that there was a 
painter named Chicanneau in Poterat’s factory at Rouen 
and it is thought that he there first found out the secrets 
of porcelain-making and then carried them to Saint 
Cloud. At all events, the letters-patent of 1696—from 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 107 


which year we may date the official manufacture of porce- 
lain at the Saint Cloud factory—granted by Louis XIV to 
‘Barbe Coudray, the widow of Pierre Chicanneau, and to 
Jean-Baptiste, Pierre and Geneviéve Chicanneau, brothers 
and sisters, children of the aforesaid Coudray and the 
aforesaid Pierre Chicanneau, and the undertakers of the 
faience and porcelain works established at Saint Cloud,” 
mention the porcelain-making experiments of Pierre 
Chicanneau the father, note his success in producing pieces 
approximating Chinese porcelain in excellence, and state 
that the children have carried on the work and, prior to the 
year 1696, “‘have arrived at the point of making porcelain 
of perfect quality.”’ 

Historical data regarding the porcelain works of 
Saint Cloud are not plentiful in contemporary French 
memoirs, but it appears that off-shoots of the establish- 
ment at Saint Cloud were started in the faubourg St. 
Honoré and in the faubourg St. Antoine in Paris, where 
similar wares were produced, by members of the Chican- 
neau family. These splits were seemingly caused by family 
dissensions with ensuing legal processes and great expense. 
It is said that the factory at Saint Cloud was destroyed by 
fire in 1773 and that the owners, thanks to long wrangling 
and law costs, had not money enough to rebuild it. This 
misfortune presumably put an end to the manufacture of 
Saint Cloud china. The Saint Cloud works, however, 
can boast the distinction of having been the first French 
enterprise of the sort that succeeded in maintaining a long 
continued existence. 

Tue Bopy. The china of Saint Cloud is one of the 
soft paste porcelains. It has a creamlike yellowish tinge, 


108 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


and where chipped or broken the fracture shews a close, 
regular granular texture. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze is clear and shews very few 
bubbles to break its evenness. It is more brilliant than 
the Rouen glaze and has a very slight creamy tinge. 
Blisters rarely occur. There seems also to have been some 
use of coloured glazes for there is in the Victoria and Albert 
Museum a little water jug, with attached cover, moulded 
top and bottom, with an overlapping scale or pineapple skin 
motif, and covered with a pale green glaze, evidently made 
in emulation of the old Chinese Celadon ware. 

ArtictEs MapE AnD Contour. The articles most 
commonly made at the Saint Cloud factory included cups, 
saucers, jugs, teapots, coffee pots, chocolate pots, tea, 
coffee and chocolate services, trays, dishes, plates, platters, 
tureens, sugar-bowls or basons and tableware generally, 
knife handles, statuettes, grotesques, vases, bowls and 
flowerpots. 

Porcelain figures are said to have been first fashioned 
at Saint Cloud and, between 1710 and 1724 under the 
direction of Dominique Chicanneau, ‘‘all other kinds of 
imaginable things.”? Grotesque figures and branched 
candlesticks in the form of tree trunks appeared, it is 
stated, as early as 1731, but these branched candlesticks 
mentioned by contemporary writers seem not to have 
survived. 

The contours of the various pieces were at first mainly 
of Chinese derivation for European china-makers at the 
outset, almost without exception, tried to reproduce both 
Oriental shapes and Oriental decoration as nearly as they 
could in order to compete with the china imported from 
the East. : 


Apa CAPOLDIUMONDESCUP 
Modelled decoration in relief, strong polychrome treatment; creamy soft paste 


Ccurtesy of the British Museum 


B. NAPLES PLATTLR AND TUREEN IN POMPEIAN MANNER 


Hard white paste, clear glaze; gold decorations, pale green figures on black ground 
in medallion 


Courtesy of tne Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 41 


LE NOVE JARDINIERE 


Bands in yellow-green with gold diaper, flowers in dull madder, blue, yellow, violet and ver- 
milion; glaze slightly uneven and of yellowish tinge 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 42 


A. VENETIAN CUP AND SAUCER 


Heraldic devices in dull Indian red; decorations in gold, violet and a little green; glaze 
cold white 


B. VENETIAN TRAY WITH SHAPED RIM 
Floral decoration in light violet, yellow, deep green and Indian red; cold white glaze 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 43 


A. SAINT CLOUD FLOWER POT, IN THE Witte 


Gadrooned rim and base, moulded flower and foliage decoration in low relief, 
modelled handles; creamy white soft paste, slightly greenish glaze 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


B. SAINT CLOUD TEAPOT, IN THE WHITE 


Moulded prunus-blossom motif in relief, modelled handle and spout; creamy 
white soft paste, slightly greenish glaze 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 109 


Later there was a gradual modification and an addi- 
tion of shapes less distinctively Chinese and more Euro- 
pean in character. It is worth noting that at Saint Cloud 
the same contours and the same decorations were con- 
tinued in use over a long period of time. 

MeEtTHops AND Types oF Decoration. White pieces 
with modelled ornament (Plate 43, A), were produced in 
fairly numerous quantity, evidently inspired by the white 
ware of Fuchien (Plate 43, B), which was greatly admired 
in Europe. ‘These pieces depended for their charm on the 
moulded and applied ornaments and included such objects 
as small figures or statuettes, knife handles, cups, saucers, 
covered jars, jugs, bowls and sugar dishes, and flower-pots. 
Prunus blossoms and sprigs in relief (Plate 43, B), flowers, 
sprays and rosettes appeared on the porcelain surface. 

While the plain white ware decorated with applied 
reliefs (1) met with favour, a great many of the pieces 
bearing moulded reliefs were also enriched with patterns in 
underglaze blue (2), the colour decoration being so dis- 
posed as to accentuate the value of the modelling (Plate 
44, B). (3) A few of the pieces with modelled reliefs were 
decorated with red, yellow, purple, green and dark brown 
along with the blue. (4) Pieces of Chinese shape, but 
without moulded reliefs, bore polychrome decorations, for 
the most part in designs closely copied from Chinese 
models. (5) A later development employed European 
designs, blue and polychrome, in the lighter and more 
graceful motifs of the Baroque manner (Plate 44, A), that 
characterised the reign of Louis XIV; these appeared first 
on pieces of Chinese shape. Together with these patterns 
and modified shapes (6), a more flowing manner of 
modelled reliefs came into use, the combination resulting 


110 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


in what was, perhaps, the most typical phase of Saint 
Cloud chinaware. 

Tue Marks. The marks were carelessly used and 
are not certain guides. A sun pressed into the paste was 
the first mark. A later mark consisted of the letters S C, 
in blue, with a small cross above and the letter T under- 
neath. In company with this mark are often found num- 
bers or detached letters, which may be the numbers of 
certain patterns or the initials of the decorators. Some- 
times these blue initials are surrounded by little crosses. 
A fleur-de-lys is said to have been used sometimes but 
some doubt exists on this score. 


sik afte | SiC 


LILLE CHINAWARE—c.1711-? 


History. In 1711 Barthélemy Dorez exhibited to 
the Mayor and Council of Lille specimens of porcelain 
that he and his nephew, Pierre Pélissier, had fashioned; at 
the same time he sought permission to set up a porcelain 
factory in connexion with his faience establishment and 
likewise asked certain concessions. The Council granted 
his petitions and subsidised his works, the subsidy being 
regularly continued till 1720 by which time the under- 
taking seems to have been firmly on its feet. The brothers 
Dorez offered to sell their enterprise to the King who, 
however, declined to buy it but gave them certain privi- 
leges and exemptions that could not infringe the rights of 
the French East India Company nor offend the Duc 
d’Orléans who was patron of the Saint Cloud factory. These 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 111 


privileges did not include permission to open a warehouse 
in Paris for the sale of their wares, and without this outlet 
they had not a sufficient market to maintain their enter- 
prise. The manufacture of Lille porcelain was discon- 
tinued not long afterwards, but it is not known in exactly 
what year this occurred. 

The products of the Lille factory were chiefly con- 
fined to imitations of the wares of Saint Cloud, and it is 
often difficult to distinguish with any degree of certainty 
between the pieces issuing from the two establishments, 
especially when sufficient marks of identification are 
lacking. The chief difference between the porcelain of 
Lille and that of Saint Cloud seems to have been that the 
former lacked the finish and interest of decoration shewn 
by the Saint Cloud china, and that the glaze shewed a 
greater tendency to blister. The paste was the same at 
both Lille and Saint Cloud. 

The mark D occasionally appears on pieces decorated 
in blue, as well as the mark A“. The mark L, accompanied 
by across, may indicate Lille or it may be one of the varied 
marks employed at Saint Cloud. 


LL. D+. I. 
wre 


CHANTILLY CHINA—1725 -1789 


History. ‘The Prince de Condé, lord of the chateau 
and domain of Chantilly, was the patron of the porcelain 
factory and provided the funds to enable Ciquaire Cirou 
to carry out experiments. Letters-patent were issued to 
Cirou in 1735, and therein it is set forth that, for the ten 
years preceding, he had endeavoured at Chantilly to make 
porcelain of the same quality as the Japanese; that he had 


112 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


excelled the Dresden porcelain; and that he purposed 
selling his wares not only in France but abroad as well. 
In view of these declarations, the King accords Ciquaire 
Cirou licence, for twenty years, to make at Chantilly all 
manner of china in imitation of Japanese porcelain. 

The Prince de Condé was an eager connoisseur and 
had collected a number of fine examples of Imari ware. In 
this collection were some excellent specimens of Kakiye- 
mon decoration, and these seem particularly to have in- 
spired much of the early Chantilly decoration—very 
appropriately, indeed, as imitation of the Japanese porce- 
lain was avowedly one of the chief objects proposed by 
Cirou. (Plate 45.) 

Chantilly never took the lead in originating new 
styles. The factory was started with the ideal of good 
imitations, and its successive directors contented them- 
selves with producing admirable adaptations of the suc- 
cessive styles put forth elsewhere. Nevertheless, despite 
any evidence of originality, the work of Chantilly pos- 
sessed great distinction and charm, and its appealing 
beauty ensured constant popularity so long as the factory 
lasted. It continued until 1789, on the eve of the Revolu- 
tion, and, after the time of Cirou, was under the director- 
ship of Antheaume, Potter, de Baynal and Lallement 
in order. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body of Chantilly china was a soft 
paste, very like the paste of Saint. Cloud, of an even 
granular texture, with a mellow, creamy or slightly yel- 
lowish tinge. It seems, however, to have been more solid 
and stable in the firing, inasmuch as large flat pieces, such 
as platters, could be made successfully. ‘These appear 
not to have been put forth at Saint Cloud. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 113 


Tue Giaze. There were two distinct types of glaze 
used at Chantilly, one during the early years of the fac- 
tory’s existence, the other adopted at a later date. The 
early Chantilly glaze contained oxide of tin which gave it 
a milky-white, opaque quality that not only enhanced the 
brilliancy of the decorations but also imparted a strongly 
individual aspect to the ware and increased its resemblance 
to the Japanese prototypes. 

Subsequently, in order to meet the demand of com- 
petition with Sevres and Mennecy-Villeroy, this glaze was 
abandoned and a transparent glaze adopted in its stead. 

ArticLtes MaprE anp Contour. The chief products 
of the Chantilly factory included dinner services, tea and 
coffee sets, cabarets or solitaires, trays, jugs, statuettes, 
grotesque figures, flowers, birds, sconces and candlesticks, 
modelled bouquets, knife handles, ink-pots and writing 
paraphernalia in general, boxes, caskets, powder boxes, 
vases, pomatum pots, snuff boxes, patch boxes, covered 
jars, and various other objects of common use. 

At first Japanese forms were largely used as models, 
and many of the platters, dishes, trays and sugar bowls 
were of lobate form which seems to have been especially 
favoured. Chinese types of contour, too, were consider- 
ably followed, not only for tea-services and articles of 
tableware but also for the modelled figures and grotesques. 

At the same time a great many distinctively French 
forms were adopted and executed with consummate 
delicacy, refinement and charm. Subsequently, the work 
done at Sévres supplied not a little material for imitation 
and the Chantilly renderings were in no wise inferior to 


their models. 
8 


114 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Types oF Decoration. The types of decoration 
characteristic of Chantilly china include the polychrome 
Kakiyemon motifs (Plate 45), of flowers, sprigs and birds; 
the more stayed and conventionally disposed Imari 
motifs with dominant blue, red and gold; Chinese poly- 
chrome motifs; underglaze blue decorations of flower 
sprays (Plate 46, A and B), modelled and applied orna- 
ments for white ware, and modelled flowers and figures for 
knobs and handles on tableware, which were decorated 
with colour; little scattered flowers and sprays in imita- 
tion of the Dresden manner; compositions of fruits, 
flowers and birds in a clear green etched with black; 
polychrome flowers, fruits and birds like those used at 
Sévres; embossed patterns of basketwork and other 
motifs for plate rims and necks of jugs; perforations 
(Plate 46, C), and the yellow, blue, green, and rose grounds 
in the style of Sévres, with the accompaniment of gilding, 
reserves, and multi-coloured flowers. These last, it may 
be added, were so successfully carried out that it is virtu- 
ally impossible to tell many of them from Sévres pieces of 
the same description unless the marks be examined. 

Tue Marks. ‘The usual mark employed at Chantilly 
was a carefully drawn hunting horn applied in on-glaze 
red. Late in the eighteenth century the same mark 
appears in blue, oftentimes accompanied by letters and 
figures meant to specify different individual pieces. The 
fact that instances occur where the Chantilly mark has 
been removed and the Sévres mark substituted by falsifiers 
shews how close was often the resemblance between the 


two wares. 6 


FRENCH CHINAWARE ITs 


MENNECY-VILLEROY CHINA—1735-1773 or 1774 


History. The factory of Mennecy-Villeroy was 
started in 1735 by Francois Barbin under the patronage 
of the Duke, Louis-Frangois de Neufville de Villeroy, one 
of the great nobles of the Court of Louis XV. Apparently 
the venture was undertaken, and porcelain was manu- 
factured, without the authorisation of royal letters- 
patent. Royal sanction, it seems, was not granted until 
1748, and then it was restricted with stipulations that 
Barbin must not employ any workmen who had ever 
worked at Vincennes and that he must not imitate the 
wares made there. 

The earliest pieces made at Mennecy were imitations 
of Saint Cloud china. Somewhat later, the opaque tin 
glaze of Chantilly was used and Chantilly wares were 
copied. At length the factory found itself, so to speak, and 
developed a manner of its own. Although the creations of 
Vincennes and Sévres were closely imitated, nevertheless 
a certain individual character was imparted to the 
Mennecy china. 

Jean-Baptiste Barbin, who had succeeded his father 
as director of Mennecy, was himself succeeded about 
1766 by the MM. Jacques and Jullien, who not only 
managed the works but became its owners as well. One 
was a painter and the other a sculptor. In 1773 or 1774 
the factory of Mennecy-Villeroy came to an end after 
venturing to make pieces in biscuit besides producing 
some of the most fascinating china of the eighteenth 
century, of much artistic excellence. 

Tue Bopy. The Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain had a 
soft paste body of a yellowish or dark ivory tinge, and was 


116 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


made in emulation of the Saint Cloud body. The faint 
yellowish or amber tone gave it a peculiarly mellow 
quality and rendered it a warm and sympathetic ground 
for the coloured decoration applied to its surface. 

Tue GuazeE. The glaze of the earliest efforts is 
faulty and uneven, and although the technical short- 
comings were soon remedied, there was rarely or never 
quite the same perfection of finish in this respect that 
characterised the work of several of the other contem- 
porary factories. At one time an opaque glaze was used, 
much like the early Chantilly glaze which, however, it did 
not equal. 

~Artictes MapEe anp Contour. Amongst the ar- 
ticles made at the Mennecy-Villeroy factory the modelled 
pieces in biscuit deserve special mention because of their 
artistic excellence and because of the initiative implied in 
undertaking them. An advertisement of March, 1766, 
announcing the coming sale of the factory and its stock of 
wares—this was just before Jacques and Jullien became 
the proprietors—enumerates “‘cups, saucers, antique 
vases, groups, pedestals, mustard-pots, gravy-boats, 
dishes, covered dishes, cruet-stands, powder-boxes, sugar- 
boxes, sugar bowls for the table, and fruit baskets of 
various forms.” 

Besides these, the factory customarily made a varied 
assortment of pieces including flower pots, pot-pourri 
jars, milk jugs, coffee and chocolate pots, teapots, water 
jugs, ewers and basons, wall brackets and sconces, small 
clock cases, mirror frames, candlesticks, statuettes, snuff- 
boxes, pomatum pots, patch boxes, knife handles, and 
sundries for household embellishment or use upon writing 
tables or dressing stands. There seems to have been a 


PLATE 44 


uo SUISUsY YNOS 


oze[3 pue ojsed Aurvalo uses 
enjq pue useId SsaAva] pUe sUIO}s ‘IB[OIA pue 9nIq ystn[q A[IYyst[s ezels ‘aysed 4jos Aweals 
‘MOTIOA ‘MUI ‘paIno[Od Jal[al UI UOIZVIODOp pap|noyw ‘isauuRW ATX SIMovy ur sf1jowm ‘an[q 9ze[s1apunN UI UOI}e10I9(q 


uvf GAYAAOD GNO1D LNIVS 


6 


° 


WINesN Weqry pue e110, A ay} JO Asayinoyd 


q UVEGAAAAACD GNOTO-LNIVS 7 


PLATE 


45 


CHANTILLY GRAVY BOAT 


creamy soft 


. 
’ 


ht green, pale yellow and vermilion 


1g 


light blue, li 


ion in 


th modelled flower knob; Kakiyemon decorat 
paste, glaze slightly bluish 


, Wi 


Characteristic lobate form 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 46 


A. AND B. CHANTILLY FLOWER POT AND LOBATE COVERED DISH 
Creamy soft paste, slightly greenish giaze; decorations light and dark greyish underglaze blue 


C. CHANTILLY OVAL FRUIT DISH 


Edges of perforations in mulberry, light blue ribbons on handles, flower sprays in mulberry 
yellow and green; creamy soft paste, glaze nearly white 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 47 


MENNECY-VILLEROY VASE : 


Characteristic flower decoration in rose, mulberry, yellow, green and dull blue; rim line of 
burnt Siena; soft paste of creamy ivory tone, clear glaze 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 117 


marked preference for vertical rather than flat pieces, and 
consequently plates and platters were comparatively 
rare products. 

During the sway of the Chinese taste the Mennecy 
factory made use of a number of Oriental shapes, but most 
of its products exhibit purely European contours. Those in 
the Rococo manner shew much grace and charm, partic- 
ularly the pieces of simpler character, although some of 
the more elaborate efforts (Plate 2, J) were rather over- 
done in their tortured intricacy. 

The knobs on the lids of tea, coffee and chocolate 
pots, sugar bowls (Plate 48), and covered dishes, and the 
handles of tureens and dishes, were well modelled and 
daintily picked out with colours. 

Types oF Decoration. The Mennecy types of 
decoration, at the outset, were patterned after the early 
methods of Saint Cloud and Rouen, use being made of the 
characteristic lJambrequins of the latter factory wrought 
in blue. Then followed decorative painting in bright, 
glowing reds, greens, yellows and blues in the subsequent 
manner of Saint Cloud and Chantilly, both in the Kaki- 
yemon vein and in the more realistic French and Saxon 
styles (Plate 48). The most characteristic Mennecy 
decorations were those patterned after the modes of 
Vincennes and Sévres, although the Mennecy decorators 
always managed to impart a certain individuality to the 
pieces they put forth. Chinese as well as Japanese motifs, 
of course, were employed to some extent, but the greater 
part of the decorations were wholly European in character. 

Occasionally Sévres ground colour processes were 
followed, such as using a bleu du rot ground enriched with 
“partridge eye”’ diapering, gilding and polychrome flowers 


118 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


in reserve. A number of cups, saucers, snuff-boxes and 
other small articles were produced which displayed 
pastoral scenes and figures after the fashion of Watteau 
and Lancret, executed with exquisite finish. 

A purplish rose colour was characteristic of Mennecy 
decoration (Plate 47), and occurs very frequently, while 
yellow, rose, lilac and blue are rather predominant in the 
flower painting. As gilding was a jealously maintained 
prerogative of the royal factories, and was forbidden 
Mennecy, so that there were times when it could not be 
practised extensively or openly, it was necessary to find 
~ some substitute to use as a finish for certain schemes where 
gold would ordinarily have been employed. This sub- 
stitute is discovered in the yellow, blue and, more espe- 
cially, the rose-coloured lines with which the mouldings, 
edges (Plate 47), and other suitable points were habitually 
embellished. ‘These colour lines add greatly to the charm 
of the decoration and we may now be glad that gilding 
was banned. 

Polychrome painting of flowers and other motifs was 
also prescribed by royal letters-patent as the sole privilege 
of Vincennes and Sévres. Although there were long periods 
when this regulation was not enforced, and when the 
other porcelain factories employed colour as freely as they 
pleased without molestation or interference, there were 
also occasions when the privilege was insistently main- 
tained. At such times there was no choice but compliance 
and Mennecy, Chantilly and Saint Cloud had to be con- 
tent for a season with monochrome decoration until the 
lines were relaxed again. About 1766 there was such a 
period of stringency. When the anti-polychrome regula- 
tion was enforced, the factories other than Vincennes and 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 119 


Sévres were at liberty to use any one colour desired in 
decorating a piece of china, and flowers, birds, and other 
motifs were all presented in blue, yellow, rose or mauve, as 
the case might be, en camaieu as the method was called. 
Not a few of these decorations en camaieu are very beauti- 
ful and possess great distinction. 

Tue Marks. The unmistakable Mennecy mark 
consisted of the letters D. V. (presumably signifying 
Duc de Villeroy). On the earlier work, this mark was 
painted in enamel colour; later it became customary to 
scratch or engrave it on the paste before firing. On some 
of the Sévres imitations the two crossed “‘L’s” of Sévres 
are painted beside the D. V. incised in the body. 


DN. 


VINCENNES CHINA—1740-1745-1756 


History. ‘The porcelain factory at Vincennes owed 
its inception to three fugitives from Chantilly—the 
brothers Dubois, painter and sculptor, who had been dis- 
missed for flagrant ill conduct, and one Gérin. Having 
secretly got possession of the Chantilly processes, they 
set about the manufacture of porcelain on their own 
account. About 1740 they disposed of some of their 
products in Paris and, as a result, obtained the interest of 
M. de Fulvy through whose good offices the King granted 
them permission to occupy some buildings adjacent to the 
chateau of Vincennes. M. de Fulvy also got them a grant 
of money. They took into partnership a man named 
Gravant, who likewise had knowledge of porcelain-making 
processes and was ready to invest a considerable sum in 
the enterprise. 


120 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


The porcelain they made appears to have been unre- 
liable in quality at first and a large proportion of their 
pieces got spoiled in the firing. Much of the trouble was 
directly attributable to the general ill-behaviour and 
drunkenness of the brothers Dubois—there seems to have 
been no fault with their formulas or processes—who 
eventually made off, leaving a disorganised and bankrupt 
concern on Gravant’s hands. Gravant, however, had 
mastered all their porcelain secrets and succeeded in 
winning the substantial support of M. de Fulvy and a 
number of courtiers and financiers so that he was able to 
- put the factory on its feet for the time being. 

In 1745 a company was formed, with privileges 
granted by the King who himself took a direct and lively 
interest in the undertaking and aided it financially. Under 
these favourable auspices the staff was strengthened by 
the addition of the most competent people it was possible 
to secure. Hellot, a distinguished chemist, took charge 
of the chemical management; Duplessis, a goldsmith and 
sculptor, supervised the modelling; and the artist Bache- 
lier, along with Mathieu, the King’s enameller, took 
charge of the decorating. 

Although the financial condition was always pre- 
carious until the factory ultimately became a royal estab- 
lishment, artistic success crowned the efforts put forth and 
so distinguished were the achievements that early in 
1748, when the Queen received an handsome presentation 
vase from the factory, the Dauphine Marie-Joséphe, “‘a 
finished diplomatist¢, ordered a similar vase as a present for 
her father, Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony, to 
shew him that the Vincennes porcelain was quite equal 
to that of Dresden.” All the great nobles of the court 


FRENCH CHINAWARE I2I 


became ardent patrons of the works, and plans were laid 
for increasing the volume of the output in view of the 
demand both in France and abroad. The memoirs of the 
Duc de Luynes mention naively that “the English want 
only white porcelain, but as they might use this to paint 
upon, they [the pieces of porcelain] are sold just as dear 
as the painted ones.”’ 

Triumphs of marvellous production continued with- 
out cease. One of the notable achievements was the 
fashioning of porcelain flowers that possessed the utmost 
verisimilitude to the living blooms and were immensely 
popular. From the memoirs of the Marquis d’Argenson 
we learn that: 


“The King has ordered from the Vincennes works porcelain 
flowers, naturally painted, with their vases more than 800,000 
livres worth for all his country houses, and especially for the 
chateau of Bellevue of the Marquise de Pompadour. Nothing else is 
spoken of in Paris, and truly this unheard of luxury causes great 
scandal.” 


Also, Soulavie, in his memoirs of the Duc de Riche- 
lieu, writes: 


“Madame de Pompadour, doing the honours of her residence to 
the King, displayed before his eyes a whole flower garden. She ex- 
pected him one day in this charming chateau of Bellevue, which had 
cost him so much, and when he entered it, she received him in an 
apartment at the far end of which was a hot-house with an immense 
flower bed, although it was a hard winter. As fresh roses, lilies and 
pinks predominated, the enraptured King could not sufficiently ad- 
mire the beauty and the sweet scent of these flowers. But nature had 
been made game of. These vases, flowers, roses, lilies, pinks and their 
stems—everything was porcelain—and the sweet perfume of 
these heavenly flowers was the effect of their essences, volatilised 
by art.” 


122 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


The fashionable world went quite mad over these 
porcelain flowers, and for a time the major part of the 
factory ’s business lay in filling orders for them. 

Notwithstanding all these outward successes, the 
factory was just beginning to work at a small profit when 
the deaths of both M. de Fulvy and his brother threw the 
financial affairs of the company again into complete 
chaos so that it was necessary, in order to avert catas- 
trophe, to appeal for the more direct aid of the King. The 
outcome of the negotiations was that in 1752-3 the factory 
of Vincennes was declared the ‘‘ Manufacture Royale de 
- Porcelaine” and became an institution directly under the 
King’s protection and support. As such, it continued until 
it was merged in the royal manufactory of Sévres in 1756. 

Tue Bopy. The Vincennes body was a soft paste, 
regarding the composition of which there are extensive 
historical data, as well as detailed descriptions of the proc- 
esses employed. The earliest paste produced by the 
brothers Dubois was prepared presumably according to 
the Chantilly formula, but its appearance was slightly 
greyish and its behaviour in the kiln was not invariably 
satisfactory. As already explained, much of the trouble 
was due to negligence. Evidently some change in the 
composition of the paste was made or else greater care 
was exercised in its preparation about the time of the re- 
organisation after the flight of the Dubois brothers. The 
quality was noticeably improved and brought to a pure, 
mellow white. Hellot said of it, ““M. Gravant’s paste 
[the old paste of Vincennes more carefully prepared after 
the departure of the Dubois element] produced a biscuit of 
the same grain as that of the Chan porcelain, but 
much whiter...” 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 123 


This beautiful white soft paste body, possibly with a 
few slight modifications subsequently introduced by 
Hellot, continued in use during the whole life of the Vin- 
cennes factory. 

Tue Guiaze. The glaze of the Vincennes porcelain 
was throughout of a beautifully clear, transparent quality. 
In some of the very first pieces made it is possible to find 
flaws, usually concealed, however, by the adroitly painted 
decoration, but at an early period in the factory’s career 
these imperfections were successfully eliminated. 

ArticLes MapE anp Contour. The articles made 
at Vincennes fill a rather varied and comprehensive list. 
Furthermore, they may be divided into two grades, the 
ordinary tableware and usual articles of household enrich- 
ment and utility, on the one hand, and the elaborate pieces 
upon which special efforts were bestowed, on the other. 

The first named class included bowls, jugs, sugar- 
bowls or boxes of several different sorts, cups and saucers, 
plates, platters, dishes, butter-dishes, soup  tureens, 
mustard pots, cheese dishes, jardiniéres, watering-pots, 
flower-pots, tea, coffee and chocolate pots, vases, candle- 
sticks, covered jars, cabarets, flower-holders, sconces, 
clock cases, mirror frames, patch boxes, snuff boxes, 
powder boxes, cream jugs, fruit baskets, sweetmeat 
dishes and many like articles of common requirement. A 
few statuettes, decorated in colour, may also be placed in 
this category. 

To the second belonged the modelled flowers (Plate 
49), made and coloured to approximate life, the groups and 
busts in biscuit produced during the royal period, with 
vases and other objects of special importance. 

Elegance and purity of contour were distinguishing 


124 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


characteristics of the Vincennes china throughout the 
greater part of the factory’s existence. Even from the 
very outset, there was apparently little recourse to defi- 
nitely characteristic Oriental shapings in the way of 
direct imitations. A certain amount of Oriental influence 
there was bound to be, but there seems to have been a pre- 
vailing tendency to develope contours in a national vein. 
As soon as Duplessis became a member of the staff, he 
bestowed great attention on the modelling and many of 
the products were marked by those subtle and delicate 
refinements of line (Plate 49), that we are accustomed to 
associate with the best instances of eighteenth century 
French design in all branches of art. Many of the pieces 
had straight sides and flaring tops or displayed a pleasant 
blending of oval and lobate forms. Subtlety and simplic- 
ity were happily combined, and it was not until the 
passion for producing pretentious ‘“‘shew pieces”” became 
an overmastering motive and ran away with discretion 
that many of the contours became unduly elaborate and 
intricate in their Rococo complexities. 

Types oF Decoration. In the letters-patent issued 
when the factory was in its infancy it was explicitly set 
forth in unmistakable terms that the purpose of the enter- 
prise was the manufacture of porcelain after the style of 
Saxon porcelain. Of course the main hope back of this 
expressed aim was that the porcelain of Vincennes should 
equal or excel the porcelain of Dresden in point of paste 
and glaze, but the desire for superlative excellence of 
decoration was by no means of trifling import. 

Amongst the very early pieces are examples with 
scattered flowers and insects, in the Dresden manner, 
adroitly painted in polychrome to conceal imperfections 


PLATE 48 


aze[s ayy 
Autesio Jo ‘a4sed 4jos ‘sulll puke sospa 4e soul, 


-IajOeIeYyO tuseIZ VAI[O pue 


HSId GaadadAoo 


uOojBUISUIY [NOG 


asol ‘afdind ‘ 
AOUATTIA 


M ‘938UT} AIOAT 


“ADA 


AiIgq[NuUl 10 9 
an[q Ul SUOTZeIOJap Ja 


NNGW ‘@ 


‘ 


Wnas 


AN¥ULI OT4SI 


NW WapY pus eBII0}9 


I 


A 


ay 


aZe[B OVUM 
MOLT J4 31] pue MO[IOA ‘asor ‘useI13 daap UI SUOI}ZVIODVp JOMOT Ol}slIojOVIeYyD 


} Jo Asajinod 


‘93Ul} Joquie 10 A1OArI Auleato Jo a4sed jos tajdind 


uvf GHAYAAOD AOUATIIA-AOANNAW ‘V 


PLATE 49 


u04BUISUdy YINOs ‘urnasnyL Weqry pue eII0JOIA 9Y} JO AsajIn0d 


usAoun A[}YSIS pue Aurvsso oze]3 ‘ajsed yjos ay1yM AWalIO !usaIZ plod seAvag] ‘AlJeqinur pue yuld ‘Morpad ‘plod ‘uol}V1ODap pe|[apow pur poyuleg 


SASVA SUNNYONIA AXAHL 


PLATE 50 


uo4UIsUay YINos ‘winaesnypy Joq[W Pue BIIOJIA 9Y} JO ASa}INOD 


Ystueeis Al} SIs ezels 
‘aysed Aulvelo ‘anyq eze[slapun Y1ep Ul suUOT}eIODIp 


LOd YaMOTH SVAAV FZ 


‘ 


qUSTIeUIO pepl[noyy 


-9ul 


‘ 


BUIINO][OO OT4ST[eIN}eU SpIIq ‘Jo]OIA AOuIS UI SUOT]]epP 


sonbseqeie pos YIM anj[q yAlep spueq ‘:eze[s Ivajo ‘aqysed 
LOd YHaMOTA AVNANOL °V 


Con ee 


2 
nt 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 125 


in the body or glaze, in the fashion previously noted. 'The 
products of Vincennes, and of its successor Sévres, are 
noteworthy for the almost complete absence of Oriental 
motifs in their decoration as well as in their contour. The 
tendencies were always peculiarly European and French. 
One of the few instances of the employment of Oriental 
decorative motifs occurs in the prunus sprigs and blossoms 
in relief on early products that displayed no colour save 
reticent bandings and a few touches upon such moulded 
features as handles. 

Enormous pains were taken to ensure the perfect 
naturalistic colouring of the modelled flowers and bou- 
quets that were so popular, whether the flowers appeared 
as separate creations in the form of detached bouquets 
and sprays or were applied as attached embellishments 
(Plate 49), to the body of a vase or dish or the branches 
of a sconce. 

Flowers, likewise, were painted with equal care on the 
surface of the porcelain and were as meticulously executed 
as were the modelled blossoms. Sprays of flowers thus 
painted formed one of the favourite types of decoration. 
At the outset gold was not used, but as the secret of 
gilding porcelain was bought from a Benedictine friar 
when Gravant, supported by M. de Fulvy, reorganised the 
establishment after the Dubois debacle, gilding soon made 
its appearance on Vincennes china and played an in- 
creasingly conspicuous réle in the decoration as time went 
on. When the factory became a royal undertaking, the 
right to use gold was considered its special prerogative 
and other factories, as already noted, were forbidden to 
use it or put it on their china. 

Under the chemists Hellot and Macquer, many new 


126 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


colours were added to the porcelain decorator’s palette so 
that with everything from bright red and carmine, soft 
rose and lilac, to all gradations of greens, yellows and blues 
at their disposal the china painters suffered no limitations. 
One result of this unrestricted colour range was that subtle 
shadings and greater naturalism in floral renderings sup- 
planted the earlier conventionalised treatment. 

Much use, too, was made of ground colours with 
spaces in reserve in which were polychrome knots of 
flowers, birds, figures and landscapes. The most important 
_and famous ground colour, bleu du roi, appeared just before 
the middle of the century. ‘This splendid underglaze colour 
was so intense that it usually had to be modified by a net- 
work of gilded lines, or some similar device to break it up. 
Several years afterwards, Hellot devised the turquoise 
blue, an enamel or on-glaze colour that was peculiarly 
characteristic of the later decoration of Vincennes and the 
subsequent decorations of Sévres. 

Besides the types of decoration hitherto mentioned, 
there were delicate interlaced ribbon patterns in conjunc- 
tion with minute diaperings, tiny flowers, birds and gild- 
ing. There were also piercings, fretwork, and embossings, 
as well as the more prominent moulded work of rims, 
handles and knobs, all of which afforded opportunities for 
manifold enrichment with colour and gold. | 

Birds of brilliant and varied plumage often appeared 
as the chief items of polychrome decoration and were, 
indeed, characteristic of one well recognised Vincennes 
type. Small landscapes, woodland and pastoral scenes, in 
the finished and somewhat minute manner of the day, 
were employed with great frequency either on shaped 
panels in reserve or without the accompaniment of any 


PLATE 51 


A 


A. DRESDEN CHINA PLATE WITH KAKIYEMON B. SEVRES SMALL COVERED JAR 


: DECORATION Characteristic apple green ground colour, with reserves and flowers 
Decoration and colouring characteristic of Kakiyemon mode 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 127 


surrounding ground colour. Again, both woodland scenes 
and flower subjects were painted en camaieu, the edges or 
rims of pieces so decorated being enriched with a line of 
gold. Yet another type of decoration consisted of leaves, 
flowers, sprays and garlands, or of arabesques, painted in 
gold on the white body of the china. 

Tue Marks. Up until the time when Vincennes 
became a royal factory there seems to have been no 
definitely recognised mark, although a few pieces of early 
style bear either the two interlaced L’s or two L’s standing 
by themselves with a point between. 

When the works came under the direct control of the 
King, it was ordered that the mark should thenceforward 
be the royal cypher, the familiar interlacing L’s, of which 
that on the right is reversed. Pieces for the King’s per- 
sonal use, or intended as royal presents, sometimes dis- 
played a fleur-de-lys above the cypher. From 1753 
onwards it was customary to date the pieces by a letter 
between the L’s, the date letter for 1753 being A, and 


wad. oe i 


SCEAUX CHINA—1749- ? 


History. At the instance of one Jacques Chapelle— 
a versatile person who, amongst other accomplishments, 
possessed a knowledge of china-making—a company 
for the manufacture of porcelain was formed at Sceaux in 
1749. The nucleus for this enterprise was a faience factory 
already well established. Through the good offices of the 


128 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Duchesse du Maine, Chapelle engaged to secure royal 
consent for the manufacture of porcelain. 

All arrangements had been made down to the least 
detail, and the work-people engaged were ready to start 
work, but the expected royal consent failed to materialise. 
The privileges already granted Vincennes presented one 
obstacle, and another still more serious was the opposition 
of Madame de Pompadour. Consequently, for the time 
being, the new organisation had to be satisfied with 
making a species of faience called Fatence Japonée. 

In 1763 the MM. Jacques and Jullien—the same who 
acquired Mennecy in 1766—took over the establishment 
and, in 1772, Richard Glot became director, Jacques and 
Jullien then concentrating all their interests at Mennecy. 
Although royal consent was lacking, porcelain was un- 
doubtedly made at Sceaux, surreptitiously, perhaps, but 
none the less certainly, from the time Jacques and Jullien 
began to manage the works. 

The Duc de Penthiévre, High Admiral of France, be- 
came patron of the factory in 1775 and, shielded by his 
puissant influence, they dared to make porcelain quite 
openly, although not until 1784, when the Vincennes- 
Sévres monopoly was somewhat modified, did they obtain 
the full right to employ polychrome decoration and gilding. 
Such decoration, however, they had probably made use of 
long before. 

Tue Bopy. The soft paste body was the same as 
that of Mennecy, which is quite natural considering the 
intimate connexion in personnel that existed between the 
two factories, Jacques and Jullien directing both Sceaux 
and Mennecy simultaneously for several years. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 129 


THe Guaze. The glaze of Sceaux, likewise, was 
identical with that of Mennecy. 

ArticLeEs MApE Anp Contour. ‘The articles made 
at Sceaux were, in general, the same as those made at 
Mennecy and included all those things incidental to the 
furnishing of tables, dressing stands and writing tables, 
as well as divers other accessories for house embellishment. 
The contours, too, bore a close resemblance to those of the 
factory with which there were such intimate relations. 

Types or Decoration. As might be expected, 
under the circumstances, there was an obvious similarity 
between the methods of decoration employed at Sceaux 
and those in vogue at Mennecy. There is this to be said, 
however. The flower and bird designs, which were partic- 
ularly favourite motifs in both places, were often better 
conceived and more deftly executed at Sceaux, a fact that 
gives the Sceaux china a special touch of distinction. 
During the period when the use of gilding was denied, 
rims, borders and edges usually displayed a finish of rose- 
colour (Plate 39, B), in lieu of gold, the effect of which is 
very engaging. | 

Tue Marks. ‘The usual mark shews the letters S X 
incised in the paste, although many pieces which it is 
reasonable to attribute to Sceaux shew no mark at all. 


SX 


TOURNAY CHINA—1750- 


History. Although Tournay is now in Belgium, 
the products of the Tournay factory are included under the 
head of French china because Tournay was under French 


rule when the porcelain made there won its reputation. 
9 


1430 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Peterinck began making porcelain at Tournay in 
1750, and the work prospered so much that a few years 
later the factory employed a large force of work-people 
and put forth a very considerable volume of wares. 

There were two grades of china produced at Tournay, 
one including pieces of the finest character that could 
compare favourably with the output of any of the other 
French porcelain factories, the second being inexpensive 
and well calculated for all ordinary domestic use. Both 
kinds were produced simultaneously over a considerable 
period, but after a number of years the finer grade was dis- 
continued. The ordinary grade is still made there. 

Tue Bopy. The soft paste body of Tournay china 
was of somewhat different composition from that used at 
the French factories already considered, and it required a 
much shorter time for firing. In colour it has not the 
noticeable yellowish or amber tinge characteristic of the 
Chantilly or Mennecy body, but it is not so white as the 
soft paste body of Vincennes or Sévres. It is also some- 
what more porous in texture than the others. 

While the usual processes of moulding and throwing 
were followed in shaping the pieces at Tournay, the proc- 
ess of casting (v. section on The Making of Chinaware) 
was also used. This process, it is believed, was first 
employed in the Tournay factory. 

Tue Guiaze. The Tournay glaze is clear, transparent 
beautifully smooth and evenly distributed, without 
runnings or ‘‘tear-drops.” 

ArtTIcLES MapE anp Contour. Amongst the ar- 
ticles of the finer ware were vases, flower-pots, tableware 
and table garnitures, tea, coffee and chocolate services, 
candlesticks, sconces, and the sundry elegancies of equip- 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 131 


ment for writing and dressing tables. The second grade 
included table services also, and all the articles of every- 
day domestic utility for which porcelain was suitable. In 
the matter of contour, both Oriental and European models 
afforded a basis for adaptation. 

Types oF DEcoRATION. One of the most favourite 
types of decoration consisted of flowers, either scattered 
in the Dresden manner or else grouped in sprays and 
more organised compositions. These were very carefully 
executed, and the factory was particularly fortunate in 
the use of an excellent iron oxide red. 

When the fashions set by Sévres had become all- 
prevalent, the Tournay decorators followed suit with 
admirable ground colours and polychrome motifs in re- 
serve (Plate 50, A). The Tournay factory was successful 
not only in producing a good underglaze bleu du roi but also 
in imitating other items of Sévres embellishment, such as 
the “‘partridge eye” device, diapers and reticulations of 
gold, and birds of brilliant plumage along with the floral 
motifs and ribbon patterns. 

Little landscapes and woodland scenes in the pas- 
toral manner of the day were largely made use of as well as 
figures, the latter in the form of cherubs or amorinzi or 
else as compositions based on Classic precedents. Both 
landscapes and figure subjects often appeared en camaieu, 
as a rule, however, in conjunction with a certain amount 
of gilding. 

The commoner wares were chiefly decorated with 
flowers, either scattered or arranged in sprays or connected 
garlands. These decorations were executed, for the most 
part, in blue, although polychrome painting was employed 
to some extent. 


132. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 
Tue Marks. The mark of the finer grade of Tour- 


nay china consisted of two crossed swords accompanied 
by four crosses, and was applied either with gold or in on- 
glaze colour. The inferior grade bore only workmen’s 
individual marks or some factory symbol indicating the 


pattern of the piece. 
+ 
% 
<p> 


ORLEANS CHINA—1753-1811 (?) 


History. The Orléans porcelain factory, under 
Sieur Gerréault, began its career in 1753 with the Duc de 
Penthiévre as its patron, the same nobleman whom we 
have already met extending his protective interest to the 
factory at Sceaux, although his patronage at Sceaux was 
not exercised till many years later. 

This venture was authorised by the Council of State 
and was distant far enough from Paris not to be perpet- 
ually harassed by the opposition of neighbouring com- 
petitors and claimants of exclusive privileges. Up until 
1770 the factory produced soft paste porcelain; after that 
date all its products were of hard paste. ‘The factory con- 
tinued in operation until 1811, it is known certainly, and 
may have gone on for some years longer. A good deal of 
china must have been produced, but it was very fragile. 
Consequently, it is comparatively rare. 

Tue Bopy. The Orléans soft paste body was highly 
vitreous, very translucent, white in colour, and of beauti- 
ful quality. The hard paste body used after 1770 was ex- 
tremely vitreous or glassy at first and exceptionally brittle, 
but the composition later became more satisfactory. 


PLATE 52 


‘Aureoio oysed ‘orjsijeinyeu suo 


UOJBUISUBY YINOG ‘uInesn| WeIq[Y Pure eIIOJOIA 9} Jo AsozINOD 


SMOT[9A PUR SUI0I8 


9ze[B IeITO 


ul siomog ‘pjos pue yuId-MoyjaA ul spueq ‘frou 
NV dNO SduAgs 


agonvs d 


pepew ‘anjq pue Arseqpnur ‘MOT[OA ‘sqa[OIA ‘sen[q ‘syxuId jueT[IIq ur sjouy Jeamog ‘awmoiyoAjod pue pjlo3 
posisdeip jeordAy UI SUOI}eIODBp ‘{oze[B Iesfo ‘aysed Aureaio tadeys sopoenq peoidAy 
d UgONVS CNV dNO SHAAUS “V 


PLATE 53 


SEVRES TEAPOT 


Typical vine and trellis design; white paste, clear glaze; top and base uneven deep blue, col- 
umns shaded madder, leaves grey green, red berries, gold banding 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 54 


uO JS,UISUIyY YANOS 


plos pure usei3 
9A1[O ‘asor ‘ayjdind ‘anjq suol1ze1009p 


YaGoOnNVS GNV dNO SAHUAAUS ‘A 


UInesnyy Jleq;y PUe BIIOJOIA 9Y} JO Asa4inod 
pjos pure 


aidind }Y43I] ‘MoTJeA ‘asoi ‘usei18 deep suolyei1ooep ‘2 


‘eze[s Ievajo ‘aqsed o4IyM piley anbsoqeie pue UOl|[Ppeul UI 9InByY ISse[D 


é‘ 


. 


ZEB IeaIO ‘ 


qng YIM Iap1oq 
aysed o41y mM prey 


aLVId TVNOOVLOO SAaAdS °V 


PLATE 55 


SEVRES JUG 


Characteristic Empire shape; ground burnt Siena, Classic arabesques in deep brown, panels 
highly naturalistic in,colour, bands, spout and handle gilt 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 133 


Tue Graze. The glaze on both the soft paste and 
the hard paste bodies was very brilliant and glassy and 
lacked the sympathetic mellowness displayed by the 
glazes of such factories as Chantilly, Mennecy, or Sceaux. 

ArticLes MapE anp Contour. ‘Table services, tea, 
coffee and chocolate sets, and pieces of kindred use com- 
posed the principal output, although a certain number of 
statuettes and vases were also produced. The contours 
were chiefly of European character, well shaped, and with 
all the moulded details impeccably designed and executed. 
During the hard paste period the prevalent Neo-Classic 
forms made their appearance. 

Types oF Decoration. In the soft paste period the 
decorations were often in the form of scattered flowers 
done in underglaze blue. The other type chiefly employed 
consisted of bouquets, knots and garlands painted in 
polychrome and enriched with gilding. 

During the hard paste period scattered flowers and 
garlands composed the usual decorative motifs and gilding 
was also used. 

Tue Marks. The marks of the early period consist of 
a label above the letter C. At some time early in the 
nineteenth century the mark became a round vignette with 
the word “Orléans.”’ It was applied in gold or in on- 
glaze colour. 


SEVRES CHINA—1756 To DATE 


History. The first chapter of the history of Sévres 
is the history of Vincennes, which we have already tra- 
versed in detail. One of the shareholders of the factory of 


134. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Vincennes, realising full well the more or less precarious 
financial condition of the establishment, endeavoured to 
interest Madame de Pompadour in its affairs, hoping that 
her intervention might be instrumental in placing every- 
thing on a firm footing. 

Madame de Pompadour, who was a person of great 
good taste and felt a deep concern in everything con- 
nected with the welfare of art in France, promptly took the 
matter up and straightway proceeded to fasten the King’s 
interest more securely and directly on the development of 
the royal porcelain manufactory. A piece of ground was 
selected at Sévres, and, to make a long story short, in due 
time the necessary buildings were erected and the Vin- 
cennes establishment with its whole personnel trans- 
ferred there. 

The trying experimental stages attending the early 
years of any enterprise had all been passed through. 
Sevres began with an already complete background of ripe 
experience and established tradition and, so far as proc- 
esses were concerned, there was an absolutely clear path 
ahead to spring full-grown into fame and the glories of 
superlative achievement. There were defects in the organ- 
isation and management of the factory, it is true, and 
these were serious enough to have landed an establish- 
ment without royal support in total bankruptcy, but the 
King’s interest and pocket, both manipulated by Madame 
de Pompadour, bridged over the difficulties and made 
it possible to produce china of unparallelled excellence 
and beauty. 

Madame de Pompadour manifested no less solicitude 
about the design and quality of the factory’s products 
than she did over the ways and means of maintenance. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 135 


Her tastes in the matter of the designs followed and exe- 
cuted can readily be traced; her care for material pros- 
perity can be judged from the following extract, taken 
from the memoirs of the Marquis d’Argenson where it is 
recorded that: 


*“Madame de Pompadour talks about nothing but the great 
advantage that the State will derive from the manufacture of porce- 
lain in the Saxon fashion, and even in having excelled the Saxons in it. 
A royal shop for the sale of this porcelain is opened in the rue de la 
Monnaie, and there is exhibited a service which the King is going to 
send to the King of Saxony as if he wanted to bid him defiance, and 
provoke him by shewing him that he had even excelled his porcelain 
manufacture. At one of the King’s suppers the Marquise de Pompa- 
dour said that those who did not buy as much of this porcelain as 
they could afford were not good citizens, to which someone answered 
that, ‘Since the King had bestowed so many donations in the en- 
couragement of this manufactory, those at Charleville and at St. 
Etienne for the manufacture of weapons, useful to us in another way, 
are neglected, and three-quarters of the work-people go over to foreign 
countries.’ ”” 


Financial difficulties, however, continued. Most 
people found the ware too expensive, especially as they 
could buy Dresden porcelain and Oriental china at a 
much lower figure. At last, in November 1759, in order to 
save the situation, the King undertook the whole mone- 
tary responsibility of the works, an edict was issued order- 
ing the factory to be administered for His Majesty, and 
the shareholders were paid off with interest-bearing notes, 
properly secured. Thus did the factory of Sevres become 
crown property. 

At the instance of M. Boileau, who had grown up with 
the business management of Vincennes and had contrived 
to make himself absolutely indispensable, the Lieutenant- 


1436 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


General of Police put forth an edict forbidding all persons 
to make, model, paint or gild porcelain, or to sell the same, 
under the severest penalties. This edict likewise forbade 
manufacturers of so-called common porcelains, who had 
hitherto enjoyed certain privileges, to use gilding, to make 
figures, flowers, or other modelled pieces except as em- 
bellishments for their own wares, or to employ any colour 
other than blue, applied after the customary Chinese 
patterns, for decorating their products. 

This, of course, called forth a stormy outburst of in- 
dignation and protest. Factories like Mennecy and 
Chantilly enjoyed the patronage of powerful nobles whom 
the King did not wish to offend and, furthermore, he saw 
the unwisdom of ruining a number of factories and causing 
needless unemployment. Accordingly, by another decree, 
set forth in February 1766, the making of porcelain in 
imitation of the Chinese was permitted, but the managers 
of the factories were straitly charged in the decoration of 
their china to use no colour other than blue, except they 
chose to paint a piece wholly with some other single colour 
en camaieu. They were likewise forbidden to use gold, 
or to make statuettes or ornaments in high relief out of 
porcelain, either glazed or unglazed. These monopolistic 
restrictions explain why Chantilly and Mennecy china of 
a certain period was decorated either in blue, or in some 
other colour en camateu, and without the grace of gilding. 

In spite of these drastic measures that crippled the 
liberty of other factories, Sévres still laboured under 
money troubles and the King was ultimately obliged to 
meet deficits from his privy-purse. If some of the energies 
and talent had been turned to making more china for the 
average market, instead of concentrating almost all 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 137 


efforts on magnificent regal productions, there would have 
been more substantial profit and less anxiety. Nor need 
artistic excellence have suffered in the least. Chantilly 
and Mennecy, to mention no others, produced beautiful 
chinaware of a quality and price not prohibitive to the 
purse of those who could afford reasonable luxury. And 
they found profit in doing so. 

As it was, the management of Sévres, inspired by 
extravagant notions of splendid ostentation, pinned 
their faith mostly on effulgent chefs d’euvres, cabinet 
pieces marvellous to behold, but quite beyond ordinary 
reach. ‘‘ Most of the pieces appear to have been intended 
for the King’s service, for the furnishing of the royal 
palaces of Versailles, the Trianon, Marly, Bellevue, 
Meudon, St. Germain, and Fontainebleau. He used them 
as presents for his relatives, his friends, his courtiers and 
his ambassadors. ‘They were also made use of as diplo- 
matic presents, sometimes, perhaps, as diplomatic bribes.” 
Naturally, when the commercial considerations were 
either wholly eliminated or else so minimised that they 
counted for naught in the grand total, it required a kingly 
purse to meet the costs of production, and even the 
kingly purse was not always adequate to the demands 
without a good deal of pinching and paring. When the 
royal purse was utterly depleted and Louis XV, like his 
predecessor, had to send all his silver to the mint, then 
Sévres made wares for popular consumption and prospered. 

The early sumptuous period of Sévres soft paste 
porcelain lasted from 1756 to 1769. In the latter year 
began the manufacture of hard paste porcelain conjointly 
with the soft paste. A great quantity of the factory’s 
productions were still of the magnifical type and, so it 


138 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


seems, Of equally magnifical price. To encourage the 
artists responsible for the designs and decoration, and also 
to help the sales, the King had exhibitions of porcelain 
every year in the Palace at Versailles. These he not only 
attended in person, but he actually played the part of 
shewman and salesman. A contemporary source gives us a 
lively picture of these occasions: | 


““Every New Year’s Day they bring into the galleries at Ver- 
sailles the newest and choicest pieces of Sévres porcelain, which the 
King himself distributes among his great lords for their money; he 
fixes the prices himself and they are not cheap. We presume that the 
price must be pretty high on account of the financial situation, but 
we shall speak about that later on. It is certain that some of the noble 
lords are not ashamed of taking a cup, or some little ornament, when 
they think they are not observed. Seeing a count take a cup in this 
way, Louis XV sent to him next morning the cashier from Sévres 
with the saucer that he had been unable to take, and a bill for the 
pieces. One day the King saw that an abbé refused to purchase a piece 
on account of its price, but in order to persuade him the King im- 
mediately promised him a benefice.” 


In time the wealthier public gradually became edu- 
cated up to the price of the wares of Sévres and collectors 
bought the choice vases, flower-pots and figures, both 
glazed and in the biscuit, on the production of which the 
ablest sculptors, painters and modellers of the day had 
spent their best efforts, but popular requirements were 
still too little considered, and the factory was usually run 
at a loss or now and then barely managed to pay expenses. 
These latter occasions were of rare occurrence. 

When Louis XVI succeeded to the throne, royal 
interest in the factory was continued unabated, both on 
the part of the King himself, who took deep pride in the 
Sévres achievements, and also on the part of the Queen, 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 139 


for Marie Antoinette dearly loved the graces which the 
painters, the sculptors and the modellers so beguilingly 
expressed, and often visited the works. The story is told 
that one day the Queen, on looking at a quantity of 
recently decorated porcelain, deplored the fact that she 
saw abundance of roses, tulips, daffodils and other flowers 
of all colours save blue, a colour to which she was very 
partial. Hettlinger, one of the directors, at once thought 
of using the cornflower as a decoration to please the Queen, 
and thenceforth it became vastly popular as a motif, not 
only at Sévres but at all the other porcelain factories 
as well. 

The King’s enthusiasm was very obviously attested 
both by his continuance of the annual exhibitions in the 
Palace at Versailles and by the active part he took in the 
preparations for them, on which occasions he was some- 
times more of an hindrance than an help, as we may 
gather from a letter written by Hettlinger: 


“‘T have already said that an exhibition of porcelains takes place 
at the end of every year up to the day of the ‘Three Magi.’ It is held 
at the Royal Palace, but the public are allowed to come and examine 
and buy the pieces. The King occupies in Versailles, besides the State 
rooms, the Petits Appartements, where he passes his private life. Three 
of these rooms are cleared of their furniture, and the porcelain pieces 
are exhibited on tables. This year he did not wait until the arrival of 
the work people, but must himself be unpacking the pieces, breaking 
not a few, and mixing everything up so that it took us hours to put it 
straight. The King delights in his manufactory at Sévres, and he said 
to one of his confidants, ‘Our brave Sévres men will soon be here. I 
must make haste to shoot some game.’” 


But royal interest in the prettinesses of the work did 
not help matters much, and certainly did not assist the 


140 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


financial management. Fifteen years before Louis XVI 
succeeded to the throne, the materials requisite for mak- 
ing hard paste porcelain had been found in France, end- 
less experiments had been carried out, and a number of 
hard paste porcelain factories had sprung up in various 
parts of the kingdom, although hard paste was not made 
at Sévres until some years after the native materials had 
become available. 

These recently established hard paste porcelain works 
were forging steadily ahead and were seriously affecting 
the market of Sévres. Although there were still in effect 
the restrictive edicts that gave Sévres a virtual monopoly 
of fine porcelain making in France, and clipped the wings 
of private enterprise, those edicts were not rigorously 
enforced. There was laxity on the part of government 
officials, there were evasions on the part of the newly 
arisen factories and, what was most significant of all, 
some of the greatest nobles of the realm and, indeed, 
members of the royal family had lent their names and 
active patronage to divers of these independent ventures 
even when they were not financially interested in their 
success, as they were in more than one instance. 

Things gradually went from bad to worse in the busi- 
ness affairs of Sévres, until at last the King was obliged to 
retrench and greatly curtail the staff which, of course, 
only made the position of the independent factories 
stronger. Even under these disadvantageous conditions, 
marvellous work was performed in the royal factory and 
triumphs of porcelain design and decoration were pro’ 
duced right up to the very eve of the Revolution. 

During the Revolution the factory was in sorry 
plight and so were the workers, but under the Napoleonic 


PLATE 56 


uUOJBZUISUIY YING 


Jo[OIA pue anjq ‘asor 


jo sapeys dsep pue MoOTjaA JYBI] ‘U9eI1B YY BI] SUOI}ZEIOOAa=p JaMO ‘dno 


‘unasn Weq[y PUB BII0JDIA 944 JO ASa4inod 


pue Igones JO WilI uo sanbseqeie pos tezeis Ieajo ‘ajsed a4y14M pie ‘plod SUOIWBIOONp faze[B IvaT[o 


awaonvs ANV dNO SHUAUS ‘F 


‘ 


ynq 10 peinojoo 
qInosiq puNnoIs ‘en[q [[Np pue uMOIq Jo sepeys ‘useI3 sjed ‘yoRIG 
oysed o}14M piey tedeys os1idwgq jeordAy, 


ugdoNvs AGNV dNO SHMAdS “V 


PLATE 57 


LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY BOWL AND EWER 


Made at one of the porcelain factories near Paris; decorations in very deep blue and gold; pure 
white, hard paste, clear, transparent glaze 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 58 


uozZUISUsy YINog ‘wWnesny Yeq;y puv eIIOJOIA 94 JO AsoqJINOD 


soAevo] Adis YSIUseIS YY BIT WIM 


p[os Ul 9Uads BUIJUNY 944anOoY]IS teze[3 94IYM IeaIIO plod Ur sUOTJeIODIp I9Y}O ‘Iaplog Yyorlq YyIM eIdas Ur sUOT] 
‘aysed o}IYM ‘sileg Ivau sal10jJOV] UTe]a0I0d ayy Jo aUO je ope, -[B peu Buo0[qo :asurz YstuseIs A[}YSI[S JO aze [3 ‘9114 M 94Seq 
NOILVUYOOUd A109 HLIM ONL ANIMWA ‘g adVHS auIdWNa ‘ON NaVO ‘Vv 


PLATE 59 


uo{sUISUIY YINOG *ulnassNyyY oq; y pue BIIOJIA 94} JO AsajzinoD 


UusvaIZ FYB] PUB YOI[OIA 
4 B11q aed ‘an,q ‘pos Ul suOTzeIODep taze[s 931M poo ‘aysed ayy MW 


NOSVd AVONS GAAAAOO SUNNGAIONGAIVA “F 


ssulpueq pue so[puey pjos ‘yajora AyOouIs 
UL Na1DMDI Ua LOTJBIONIP !aBUT} YsIn[q A[IYB YS jo aze[s ‘oysed oy MW 


LOd YAMOTT UATTIAYACIN “V 


FRENCH CHINAWARE I4I 


régime order was restored and the establishment was again 
put on its feet, for Napoleon saw in it a means of contrib- 
uting to the splendour and outward display of pomp 
about which he was so solicitous and which he knew how 
to use to such good purpose. In this era much magnificent 
but over-elaborate porcelain was produced. The great 
physicist Brongniart became director and bent his energies 
to perfecting the hard paste body. It was at this time, in 
the early years of the nineteenth century, that the making 
of the beautiful soft paste porcelain at Sévres was defi- 
nitely abandoned. 

The factory of Sévres has grown into a great national 
institution and has rendered invaluable services to the 
porcelain art, but as this volume is not concerned with the 
essentially modern developments of chinaware, we shall 
leave it at this point, merely adding that in the museum 
at Sévres are admirable and comprehensive collections 
of china which it is well worth while for any china-lover 
to inspect. : 

Tue Bopy. In the section on Vincennes china the 
early ‘story of the soft paste body was told. After the 
factory of Vincennes was removed to become the founda- 
tion of the Sévres factory, the chemical staff of Sévres 
were constantly conducting experiments, and whenever 
there was a chance to effect an improvement, the improve- 
ment was straightway made, until the paste was brought 
to absolute perfection—pure milky white, hard, and 
translucent. 

This perfect body, with its tender translucence, con- 
tinued to be used without a competitor for favour until 
1769, when hard paste was added to the list of products. 
Oftentimes the walls of the soft paste pieces were thinner 


142. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


at Sévres than they had been made at Vincennes; this 
increased their translucence and also their fragility. The 
soft paste in the biscuit pieces sometimes shews a very 
pale amber tinge, which adds a warm glow and mellowness 
to the general aspect. 

The hard paste produced underwent the same con- 
stant and rigid scrutiny as the soft paste had undergone at 
an earlier date, and the same revision of formulas for its 
composition. It was the tendency of the chemists in 
charge to aim at technical perfection rather than sympa- 
thetic quality, beauty, or adaptability for decoration. The 
soft paste was the most perfect vehicle ever achieved for 
decorating, far more so than the hard paste. But much was 
sacrificed in the endeavour to reach technical perfection 
in the hard paste, and there was a tendency to make it too 
‘‘severe”’—cold, hard, metallic and glittering in quality. 

Brongniart, who abandoned the manufacture of soft 
paste porcelain, bent his efforts toward making the hard 
paste conform absolutely with the hardest type of Chinese 
porcelain. Under Brongniart the hard paste was made 
harder than previously, and the type he introduced is still 
employed for table services. It was not until late in the 
nineteenth century that this attitude was at all modified. 
The Sévres hard paste body is absolutely white, hard, 
translucent and resonant and needless to say, flawless. 

THe Guaze. ‘The glaze used at Vincennes had been 
brought to perfection before the removal to Sévres. It 
had a lustrous, luscious richness, and at Sévres it was 
maintained at its highest state of clarity, colourless trans- 
parency, glassy smoothness, and evenness of distribution. 

The glaze used on the first hard paste porcelain made 
at Sevres, and continued down to 1800, was calcareous, 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 143 


that is, it had chalk or lime in its composition, and was 
much less glossy than the glaze of the soft paste porcelain. 
As a matter of fact, it was relatively opaque, and hence the 
early hard paste exhibits a pearly whiteness. This early 
glaze was an especially kindly medium for colours and for 
enamels in relief. Brongniart changed this glaze for one 
made from the natural pegmatite of St. Yrieix, near 
Limoges, and it is this later glaze that so often seems 
glittering and unsympathetic. 

ArticLeEs Mape anp Contour. Apart from the 
objects de luxe, the “‘shew pieces,”’ to which reference has 
already been made, the modelled flowers, the splendid 
vases and other ornaments intended for the King’s service 
or to be given as presents to foreign monarchs and ambas- 
sadors, the wares made at Sévres number dinner-services 
of both simple pattern and the more elaborate designs of 
Duplessis, trays, sugar-bowls, inkstands, jardiniéres, tea, 
coffee and chocolate services, milk jugs, table garnitures, 
sconces, candlesticks, basons and ewers, tobacco and 
snufi-boxes, patch boxes, covered jars, watch cases, but- 
tons, cane-heads, thimbles, perfume and pomatum pots, 
needle-cases, bonbonniéres, bowls, pot-pourri jars, gravy- 
boats and sauce-boats, vases of a dozen different styles, 
fruit baskets, dessert services, clock cases, cups and 
saucers, plaques or panels for furniture—these in the 
reign of Louis X VI—small flower jars, and jewel caskets. 
Besides these there were the portrait medallions, busts, 
groups, and figures of biscuit porcelain modelled by the 
most eminent sculptors. 

As previously pointed out, the contours followed at 
Sévres were distinctly French. It is the nature of the 
French genius, even when a model is admittedly drawn 


144 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


from some foreign source, so to assimilate and adapt 
it and endow it with new individuality that it wholly 
ceases to be what it was and becomes a new thing instinct 
with Gallic character. Whatever inspiration in contour 
was derived from Oriental sources was so reshaped in the 
hands of the Sévres designers that it became French in 
the transmutation. 

During the reign of Louis XV the contours of Sévres 
porcelain were a faithful index to the prevalent trend and 
spirit of contemporary design as we see it reflected in 
architecture, furniture and painting. Subtle shapings and 
curves were the order of the day, and we find these ele- 
ments accommodated to chinaware, as well as everywhere 
else. Long before Louis XVI came to the throne, however, 
a change of taste had set in and superseded the well rec- 
ognised Rococo manner that we particularly associate 
with the reign of Louis XV. 

A strong tendency toward greater purity and sim- 
plicity of line was unmistakable. The chinaware of 
Sévres promptly registered all the changes of style from 
the exuberant fancies of the Rococo mode to the more 
austere forms of Neo-Classic provenance. Without loss 
of grace, the many playful curves and subtle shapings 
gave place to straight lines or restrained flaring contours 
(Plate 54, B). When the Directoire and First Empire 
came, the urbanity and suave but cheerful dignity of Neo- 
Classic contours yielded, in turn, to the aggressive and 
insistent severity of robust Neo-Grec forms (Plates 55 and 
52, A), inspired by newly-quickened archeological enthu- 
siasms. In short, whatever was the dominant attitude in 
the minds of Frenchmen toward matters of style and de- 
sign, that attitude was straightway mirrored in the prod- 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 145 


ucts of Sévres whose design was a peculiarly sensitive 
index to every slightest variation of national taste. 

Types oF Decoration. The types of decoration 
that characterised the porcelain of Sévres, notwithstand- 
ing their manifold variety, reflected the procession of style 
influences just as surely and accurately as did the con- 
tours. We find the Rococo manner, at its best, exemplified 
from about 1756 to 1769. Before this, however, there 
were indications of the coming change, and during the 
reign of Louis XVI the spirit of the decorations manifested 
an altogether new aspect. Delicacy, elegance and re- 
straint succeeded to exuberant and playful fancy, to be in 
turn ousted by the incisive severity of the Directoire mode 
which was soon to be followed by the ostentatious pomp 
and circumstance of the Empire fashion. All of these 
epochs had their own well defined preferences in both 
colouring and the character of decorative motifs, and these 
preferences were interpreted in the china of Sévres no less 
than in every other visible manifestation of decorative art. 

It must be remembered that Sévres had fallen heir to 
all the decorative developments of Vincennes and had 
only to go on amplifying and adding to the stock of thor- 
oughly organised tradition acquired by inheritance at the 
outset. There were, to begin with, the various types of 
flower and bird painting followed by the Vincennes dec- 
orators and there were the wonderful ground colours that 
the Vincennes chemists had already devised. To these 
colours, in 1757, was added the beautiful rose Pompadour, 
popularly and wrongly called rose du Barry. 

The development of the Sévres style of decoration was 
the natural outgrowth of the methods in vogue at the 


Vincennes factory. There was no break in the tradition. 
10 


146 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


It was a continuous progression, to a large measure in the 
hands of the same men. ‘The chief difference to be noted, 
so far as the early work of Sévres is concerned, is that the 
decorations in many instances gradually became richer 
and more sumptuous than those customarily employed 
at Vincennes and new colours and gradations of colour 
were added. 

The bleu du rot, as previously mentioned, was too 
intense and vibrant to use in large masses alone and was 
ordinarily modified by fine gilded reticulations in a regu- 
lar pattern, by vermiform gold lines, by the “‘partridge 
eye” motif, or by a circular diaper in gold. Besides the 
bleu du rot, the Sévres blue and turquoise blue as ground 
colours, there were rose Pompadour (just mentioned), 
apple-green (Plate 51, B), grass-green, lilac, daffodil 
yellow, claret colour, a pale canary yellow which was de- 
veloped at a rather late date, brown tortoise shell and 
green tortoise shell grounds, and the underglaze chrome 
green, which last was developed during the Empire and, 
although striking, cannot be considered beautiful or in 
any way worthy to be compared with the earlier grounds. 

The panels reserved on the white ground of the porce- 
lain, in conjunction with these ground colours, were sur- 
rounded and defined with gilded or coloured scrolls or 
bands of ribbon. In the case of one jardiniére, now pre- 
served in the Wallace Collection, with a ground colour of 
rose Pompadour, the oval reserved panel is surrounded 
with a broad green ribbon touched with gold. On these 
reserved panels were customarily painted with the utmost 
delicacy woodland scenes, pastorals, groups of figures, 
harbour scenes, military subjects, scenes of society, 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 147 


gallantry or love, and a diversity of mythological subjects, 
or else they were decorated with flowers in polychrome or 
birds of gorgeous plumage. Although subjects of this 
sort had been marvellously well executed at Vincennes, at 
Sévres there was a marked increase in the delicacy and re- 
finement of presentation. This is not to be wondered at 
when a number of the ablest artists of the time were con- 
stantly employed—such men as Le Guay, Lecot, Dodin, 
Armand, Aubert, Bouillat, Mérault, Sioux, Chabry, 
Pithou, Bouchet and Rosset, to name only a few of them. 

The modellers and sculptors were no less distinguished 
in their profession. There were Duplessis, Falconet, 
Bachelier, Le Riche, Perrotin and Levaux, while in model- 
ling the originals for the biscuit portrait busts and groups 
there were such men as Pigalle, Clodion, Caffieri, Boizot, 
Julien and, above all, Pajou. Many more names of 
painters, sculptors and modellers might be added to the 
list, did space permit, but if anyone wishes to pursue the 
details further on this score a complete roll may be found 
in the bulletins of the Sévres museum. 

When ground colours were not used, with reserved 
panels for the elaborate painted decorations, rims, bands 
or other parts of grounds were sometimes filled with 
diapers of lattice (Plates 52, B and 53), or trellis work or 
with ‘‘partridge-eye”” forms composed of sea-green or 
bright blue dots in conjunction with minute gold dots on 
the white ground of the porcelain to give additional texture 
and enrichment. There were also landscapes and country 
scenes executed on a white ground en camaieu in crimson, 
rose, blue or rose mulberry, with gilding on the rims and at 
other appropriate places. 


148 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Not a little of the tableware was decorated with 
flowers in polychrome, scattered or in bouquets (Plate 
52, A and B), and often the scattered flowers were very 
minute. There were also garlands, festoons and wreaths 
(Plate 54, B), of both flowers and foliage (Plate 56, B), 
while fruit was often used on dessert services. Armorial 
bearings likewise played an important part in the decora- 
tions, along with monograms and cyphers. 

Besides tiny forget-me-nots, little cornflowers and 
rosettes set at the intersections of latticework (Plate 52, 
B), there were graceful arabesques (Plate 54, A), patterned 
after those of Pompeii or adapted from the frescoes of 
Raphael; there were medallions with cameo heads and 
figures; there were rectangles, ovals, octagons, hexagons, 
and panels of other shapes filled with Classic figures; 
there were country scenes and peasant figures (Plate 56, 
A); there were innumerable border patterns with scrolls, 
cartouches, cornucopias and various symbols and at- 
tributes, and there were elegant Etruscan motifs. 

The Directoire brought Phrygian caps and an host of 
Roman republican and Imperial motifs, while the Empire 
brought a brief dominance of Egyptian themes and a 
larger and more permanent following of Greek and Roman 
devices supplied by Percier and Fontaine. 

The gilding was always excellent (Plate 56, B), 
whether the whole design was painted in gold or whether 
the gold was employed as an enrichment, either flat or 
burnished. The “‘jewelled Sévres”’ with transparent raised 
enamels laid on gold that appeared like inlaid jewels on 
the surface of the porcelain, was one of the triumphs of 
combined gilding and enamelling. : 


PLATE 60 


uoJZUISUSY YING 


PP The 
‘Aljoqinul ‘uaeis JO sapeys Om} UI 


pue MoOTJ9A Ystuseis ‘UuOT[IUIIOA 


UOI}BIODVp JaMOY Uspseiq [eoIdA4 taze[s a414M pjoo ‘a4sed 9z1yM ple] 
agonNvs GNV dNO Nadsaud ‘g 


uInasny Jeq[y pu eIIOJOIA BY} JO Asa4inod 


en[q doap ul uolM4eiosep 


‘6 


9Ze[3 9}IYM plod ‘aysed 9414M plePT 


ALV1Id dNOS .NYdLLVd NOINO,, NAGSaud ‘“V 


PLATE 61 


pue 
pue 


UOJSULISUDY YYNOS ‘uINssny WIQ[Y PUL LIIOJOIA 94 jO ASOZINOD 


UOI[IWIIOA 
usdI3 Ysinjq [[np ‘Alleqinur ‘MoOT[eA 4YYSIT UI UOT}ZeIODap YoasUI 
Jamoy sworyodjod pue Burpiis ‘aze[s ay1yM poo ‘aysed ayy A 


Onf Naasaud ATUVA ‘Z 


ants sanantonio Atenescpeeettesaepres He HE: 


yoou punore fijow onbseqeiv ‘ATX sino7 ‘suipueq pos pur por 
‘AII9q[NU VSOl Ul NaLDMDI Ua UOIZVIOOIp L9ZeIB 9}IYM Poo ‘ajsed ayy M 


LOd ALWIOOOHD NACSAUAd ATAVA *V 


PLATE 62 


-I9A ‘U90I13 YSIMOT[AA ‘AANeU ‘plod UT UOT}eIODIP ‘aysed url jusureUuLO 


peplnouw 


uO BUISUIY YNOS 


Alleqinur pue uoriIut 


winasny, Woq[y pue eIIOJOIA 94} Jo AsazInN0|D 


TOS] Ul AUUIIer) OUI BULjeW 
-208| MOT[Id psonposjur oYM ULUI}IO vieqieg sjusseidel ainsy SIU» 


A , ; UVIPIIIA pue UdeIZ ‘an[q 4YST] ‘JopTOIA 
pue Jusueuso pajjepow tysinjq ATI4SYs eze[s ‘oysed 9714 M daap ‘mojah ayed ur uorjyerosap ‘ysiniq A[}YSIS oze[s ‘aysed oY M 


augiINniduvl Naqasadud 


xUaXVW AOVT dO aaNo!ld Naasaad “V 


PLATE 63 


uO{BUISUSY YINOG ‘UINesNy Jeq[y PUP BIIOZOIA BY} Jo AsazInod 


suseI3s OMY 


UOT[IWIIA pue MOTIAA ‘UsdI3 pue uolyiurieaA ‘aniq [[np ‘Mo][eA ated ‘aAneu ut slamoy ‘rep 
‘anjq ojed ‘Aljoq[NU UI UOI}eLOOVp f9zZeP[B 9JIYM PIO ‘azIYM 94seg -10q onbsaqeie onj[q pue pos taze[s 941M IeaTo ‘ayIYM Poo a4seq 
LNANVNAO CaaGd INOW HALIM LVOd AOIVS LSHOOH ‘& LOd HAMOTHT OANANAHATWAN ‘V 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 149 


Tue Marks. The Sévres mark was the royal 
cypher, the two “L’s”’ interlaced and facing each other. 
The date letter or letters stood between the two L’s and 
afford an accurate means of dating the pieces. 


y ~ Sev rede 


BE |ho S SF. 


iso > Ie gy fo 

LE 5 RSA) ® 

us Ea Ps A 

2 9 i Q~ 
Sevres & "QS v 
24 SEyRE? 


BOURG-LA-REINE CHINA—1774-1788 


History. ‘The factory at Bourg-la-Reine, not far 
from Sceaux, was founded in 1774 by the MM. Jacques and 
Jullien who have appeared twice before, once in con- 
nexion with Sceaux and once as the managers of the 
factory at Mennecy-Villeroy. The Bourg-la-Reine fac- 
tory was started under the protecting patronage of the 
Comte d’Eu, and it is believed that Jacques and Jullien 
embarked on this new enterprise upon relinquishing the 
works of Mennecy-Villeroy, either through sale or upon 
the expiration of a lease. 

Considering who were the heads of the factory, it is 
to be expected that the wares produced at Bourg-la-Reine 
should be substantially the same as those of Sceaux and 
Mennecy. The china produced at those two places com- 
manded a ready market and the work of Bourg-la-Reine 


1so.)6° THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


was merely a continuation of the earlier work of Jacques 
and Jullien. When the pieces are unmarked it is well-nigh 
impossible to distinguish between the products of the 
three factories. 

Nearly all the edges of the Bourg-la-Reine pieces have 
a line of rose-colour. Very few were gilded, and those so 
decorated were probably amongst the latest products 
after the inhibitions respecting gilding had been removed. 
The pieces of Bourg-la-Reine china that are marked have 
the letters B. R. incised in the paste. 


B.R, 


ARRAS CHINA—1782-1788 (?) 


History. In 1782 the Arras factory was undertaken 
by two ladies named Deleneur. They were previously 
faience dealers in Arras and engaged in the manufacture of 
porcelain at the instance of the Governour of Flanders and 
Artois, who supplied the necessary funds. This he did 
partly because of his jealousy of Tournay, partly because 
of the extensive importation of English china, which he 
wished to stop. 

The body was a soft paste, yellowish white in colour, 
somewhat resembling the paste of Mennecy or Sceaux. It 
was chiefly decorated in blue (Plate 50, B). The mark con- 
sists of the letters A R painted in underglaze blue and 
occasionally a painter’s initial appears alongside. 

Competition was too keen and other wares were 
cheaper so that the factory was not profitable and was 
abandoned after five or six years. 


AR 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 151 


SAINT-AMAND-LES-EAUX CHINA—1815 To DATE 


History. Dorchies Herbo, a Fleming, started the 
porcelain factory of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux in 1815 and 
produced a fine white soft paste body. Counterfeiters of 
porcelain have often availed themselves of this ware to 
dress up with decorations and sell as specimens of the old 
soft paste Sévres. Along with Tournay, the factory of 
Saint-Amand-les-Eaux is the only establishment that has 
continued the making of soft paste porcelain to the 
present day. The common porcelain of this factory is 
painted with simple designs in underglaze blue. 


PARIS CHINA 


History. From about 1760 onward, but chiefly in 
the later years of the eighteenth century, a number of 
porcelain factories sprang up in Paris and in its immediate 
suburbs. They were engaged chiefly in the manufacture of 
hard paste porcelain, consequent upon the discovery of 
the necessary materials in the south of France, and were 
able to pursue their course comparatively unmolested, 
partly through diplomatic evasion, partly through the 
laxity of enforcing the regulative edicts that prevailed 
during the reign of Louis XVI. They unquestionably 
infringed the prerogatives claimed by Sévres, but this 
infringement was generally connived at by those in 
authority and was actively encouraged by many of 
exalted station, in one case even by the Queen, Marie 
Antoinette, herself. 


152 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Of these minor factories, many of which produced 
admirable china both in point of structure and tasteful 
decoration, those most worthy of attention were Vincennes 
(not to be confounded with the old Vincennes factory which 
was merged in Sévres), the ‘‘ Manufacture du Comte @’ 
Ariots,”’ the factory of Vaux, the Fabrique de la Courtille, 
the Fabrique de la rue de Reuilly, the Fabrique de Mon- 
sieur at Clignancourt, the Fabrique de la Reine, rue 
Thiroux, the Fabrique du Duc d’Angouléme, rue de 
Bondy, the Fabrique de la rue Popincourt, and the 
Fabrique du Duc d’Orléans. 

The products of these factories are always turning up 
and most of them are so excellent (Plates 57 and 58, B), 
that anyone might well rejoice at getting them. Nor is this 
excellence to be wondered at when we remember that nota 
few of those men who started these factories, or directed 
them, had gained their knowledge and ability, both 
technical and artistic, in no less a training school than the 
factory of Sévres. 

When the deficits of Sévres were appallingly large in 
the reign of Louis XVI, and it was well-nigh impossible for 
the King to find the wherewithal to maintain the works at 
their full capacity, he was obliged to reduce the staff. 
Every reduction sent adrift men who were capable of 
making and decorating porcelain in the manner of Sévres 
and, when the enforced retrenchment deprived them of 
their wonted employment in the royal factory, it was only 
to be expected that they should seek an outlet for their 
experience elsewhere and carry on the kind of work for 
which they were best fitted. 

Started as these factories were, late in the century 
when the passion for hard paste porcelain was strong and 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 153 


when France now had the materials within her own terri- 
tory whereby she could equal the long-envied products of 
the German factories and secure the same commercial 
advantages, it was the most natural thing in the world that 
they should all pursue the making of hard paste porcelain. 

As all these factories were in operation late in the 
century, the china they made exhibited the contours and 
decoration characteristic of that epoch when restraint and 
reticence began to take the place of the more florid 
exuberance that had previously prevailed. In contour, 
purity of line, and in decoration, the disciplined elegance 
of Neo-Classic motifs contribute a charm that distinguishes 
much of the chinaware put forth by these establishments. 
Their wares may be less famous than the products of 
other better known factories, but they are none the less 
beautiful and deserving of sincere appreciation. 


VINCENNES (HANNONG) CHINA—1767-1786 (?) 


History. Before Sévres engaged in the making of 
hard paste porcelain, and while experiments with that end 
in view were being eagerly pursued, negotiations were 
carried on with the Hannongs, a family of Strasburg 
potters who unquestionably possessed the secrets of 
making hard paste porcelain and produced it first at 
Strasburg and afterwards at Frankenthal. These nego- 
tiations do not shew M. Boileau, the guiding spirit of the 
management at Sévres, in a very creditable light. Boileau, 
having obtained Hannong’s secrets and pumped him dry 
of every item of useful information, not only refused to 
live up to his stipulated agreements but acted with the 
greatest harshness, persecuted the Hannongs, and made it 
impossible for them to manufacture porcelain within the 


154 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


kingdom of France. The whole affair was a piece of in- 
excusable trickery and sharp practice. 

In 1767 permission was granted a certain Maurin des 
Aubiez to set up a faience factory at Vincennes, and this 
permission to make faience was a little later extended to 
make use of the old soft paste porcelain and manufacture 
hard paste porcelain so long as he did not trench upon the 
privileges of Sevres. “‘Maurin des Aubiez”’ may have been 
a name assumed by Hannong or it may have been the 
name ofa silent partner. Atany rate, in a document of 1771, 
Hannong is mentioned as director of the establishment. 

In 1772 Hannong left Vincennes to take charge of the 
porcelain works belonging to the Comte d’Artois. The 
next indication of the continuance of the Vincennes hard 
paste porcelain factory was in 1784, when the Sieur 
Lemaire, evidently making porcelain there at that time, 
made a protest against the restrictive edicts. When King 
Louis Philippe visited the Sévres factory, many years 
after, he said that while he was still Duc de Chartres he 
had given his protection to Hannong in setting up the 
establishment at Vincennes. No mention of the factory 
occurs after 1786. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body of the porcelain attributed to 
this obscure Vincennes venture is a very vitreous hard 
paste with a slight yellowish tinge, and it somewhat re- 
sembles several of the earlier soft paste products. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze is often uneven and defective. 

ArTicLES MapE anp Contour. The articles made 
seem to have been chiefly tableware of a purely utilitarian 
character. The contours had no particular individuality 
beyond reflecting the trend of contemporary taste in such 
matters. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 155 


Types oF Decoration. Little painted flowers in 
polychrome formed the usual decoration. The rose and 
violet colourings are apt to be faded from over-firing. 

meee vARKS. ‘The marks “HH”? and “P.H” in 
underglaze blue indicate origin at this factory. Pieces 
marked “L P” under a ducal coronet, in underglaze blue, 
are also supposed to have come from the Vincennes works. 


ey 
me fk 


FABRIQUE DU COMTE D’ARTOIS CHINA—1769-1810 


History. ‘This factory, in the faubourg St. Denis or 
the faubourg St. Lazare, began operations about 1769. 
Pierre Antoine Hannong, leaving Vincennes, became the 
director here in 1772. Hannong’s direction not proving 
satisfactory from a business point of view, he was removed, 
and, at the instance of one of the proprietors, the Marquis 
d’Osson, Barrachin was made director about 1775. It was 
then that the factory secured the patronage of Charles- 
Philippe, Comte d’Artois, the brother of Louis XVI. At 
the same time it obtained the privilege of using the title 
“* Manufacture du Comte d’ Artots.”? With a capable direc- 
tion and staff, and under distinguished and powerful 
patronage, it now entered upon a prosperous career. 

In 1782 Bourdon-Desplanches was director and per- 
formed the achievement of firing an ovenful of china with 
coal in the presence of the municipal authorities, the 
Sévres chemists, and a gathering of savants. The success 
of this feat made a deep impression, for it meant the 
saving of a vast quantity of wood fuel which it was be- 
coming all the time more and more difficult to get. Bour- 


156 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


don-Desplanches was rewarded with a subsidy of 3000 
livres in recognition of his important accomplishment. 

After the restrictive edict of 1784, the factory sought © 
permission to continue making biscuit pieces, busts and 
other modelled products as well as to go on painting china 
in all colours and decorating it with gold, on condition of 
using coal altogether for firing. The petition was granted, 
provided the gold decoration did not wholly cover any one 
piece, and provided the biscuit pieces produced were not 
more than eighteen inches high. 

The factory kept on in prosperous working till about 
1793. After the worst of the Revolutionary violence and 
disorder had passed by, the factory resumed its activities, 
and, under the successive direction of Huet, Benjamin and 
Schoelcher, maintained operations until 1810 when it was 
at last discontinued. It was one of the most important of 
the independent Paris factories and produced a great deal 
of porcelain of the highest quality. 

Tue Bopy. The hard paste body for the first few 
years exhibited a slightly yellowish or amber tinge, similar 
to the paste of the Vincennes factory while Hannong was 
its director, and was very vitreous. When Bourdon- 
Desplanches became director the character of the body 
changed, shewed a pure milky white colour, and was in 
every way of admirable quality so that it compared 
favourably with the hard paste body made at Sévres. 
The biscuit pieces, likewise, were of excellent character. 

Tue Guaze. Under Hannong’s directorship the 
glaze was pitted and displayed many imperfections. When 
the quality of the body was improved, the glaze also was 
perfected so that it was clear, transparent and evenly 
distributed. 


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A. HEREND TRAY WITH PIERCED RIM ; 


White paste, smooth, clear glaze; deep Indian red border with gold arabesques, light centre 
with vari-coloured decoration 


B. COPENHAGEN TUREEN 


White paste, excellent clear glaze; decoration in blue, pink, yellow, vermilion and varied 
shades of green; modelled and applied flower handles 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 157 


ArticLes MApDE anp Contour. From the very be- 
ginning of the factory’s career it turned out a large 
quantity of ware which seems at first to have consisted 
chiefly of table services and similar utilitarian articles. 
Under the management of Bourdon-Desplanches the scope 
of the products was broadened so that virtually every- 
thing was made for which there could be any demand, 
including a great number of biscuit pieces both in the form 
of portrait busts and also the statuettes and groups in the 
manner of those produced at Sévres. 

The contours in general plainly shewed the influence 
of Neo-Classic design that marked the reign of Louis XVI _ 
and some of the forms closely imitated those of Sévres 
which set the fashion in such things. 

Types oF Decoration. ‘The decorations of the 
earlier products were generally more or less scattered 
polychrome flower subjects in the execution of which a 
reddish-violet colour was conspicuous, this same colour 
being employed in a thin line to finish the edges and rims 
of tableware. 

Under Bourdon-Desplanches the types of decoration 
experienced as marked a change as did the character of 
the paste and the glaze. Landscapes and Classic figure 
subjects were freely used. Many of these were executed 
en camaieu, a soft grey being much employed for that 
purpose. Arabesques in the Pompeian manner frequently 
entered into well disposed compositions. Carefully exe- 
cuted bouquets and garlands of small flowers in poly- 
chrome also supplied a popular motif and the blue 
cornflower decoration, originated at Sévres, likewise 
entered into the schemes. The gilding was excellent and 
judiciously used, even when it occurred in lavish measure. 


158 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


The chemist of the works devised a blue porcelain 
paste that could be advantageously employed for work of a 
decorative character without the addition of gilding or 
painting, but the usual methods of producing ornamental 
effects were commonly followed. 

THe Marks. Pieces produced while Hannong was 
director shew the mark “‘P.H.” applied in underglaze 
blue. The later marks, after Charles-Philippe became 
patron, were either the letters ““C P”’ interwoven, or the 
same letters standing beneath a crown of a Prince of the 
Blood. Ordinarily these marks were enclosed in a vign- 
ette and were applied in red or some other colour, painted 


on the glaze. 
CP 


VAUX CHINA—1770-? 


History. Records regarding the porcelain factory 
at Vaux, near Meulan, are by no means as full as might be 
desired. In 1770, an hard paste porcelain factory, man- 
aged by Sieur Moreau, was in operation there. It has been 
said that Hannong had some concern with the founding of 
- this establishment, but apparently there is nothing what- 
ever to warrant such a statement. Certainly the character 
of the china produced would not tend to confirm such an 
opinion, for wherever Hannong was in control the porce- 
lain produced seems to have been of inferior quality, while 
the porcelain of Vaux had a splendid white body, the wares 
were excellently potted, and the gilding and painting, 
executed in the prevalent manner of the time, left nothing 
to be desired. The mark used was two crossed “V’s”’. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 159 


FABRIQUE DE LA COURTILLE CHINA—1773-1794 


History. Locré established the Fabrique de la 
Courtille, in the rue Fontaine-au-Roi, in 1773 with the © 
express intention of imitating the porcelain made in 
Germany. Almost from the outset this factory made a 
large quantity of china, including tableware, a consider- 
able number of shew pieces such as large and important 
vases, and a number of biscuit groups and busts. 

About 1784 Ruffinger joined forces with Locré and 
the establishment gained such a conspicuous position that 
in 1787 it was numbered with the works that were of 
enough importance to be allowed to operate, although 
they enjoyed no specific authorisation. It was in this 
factory, in 1790 or thereabouts, that the process of casting 
was first employed in France in the making of hard paste 
porcelain. In 1794, presumably owing to the disturbances 
of the Revolution, the business came to an end. It seems 
to have been revived later, but only china of a very com- 
mercial type was made. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body was an excellent and pure 
white hard paste and the biscuit was of equally good 
quality with the glazed ware. 

Tue Guiaze. The glaze was clear and brilliant. 

ArticLteEs MapE anp Contour. Fine dinner ser- 
vices, tea, coffee and chocolate services, dessert services, 
candlesticks, sconces and all the usual small articles in 
common demand at the time were made; also ornamental 
vases and fine modelling in biscuit ware. 

Tyres oF Decoration. The decorative repertoire 
embraced arabesques in the Pompeian manner, often on 
coloured grounds, little flowers and other motifs in the 


160 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


style of the period for tableware, and modelled ornament. 
In connexion with the bases of biscuit ware there were 
sometimes vermiform applications in white slip, and some 
of the later porcelain produced was painted like agate. 

THe Marks. The mark was two crossed torches; 
the biscuit pieces bear the same mark or else the words 
“Locré a Paris,” or “‘ Fabrique de la Courtille.” 


x 


FABRIQUE DE LA RUE DE REUILLY CHINA— 
(1774) 1781-1800 (?) 

History. In 1774 a porcelain maker named Lassia 
sought leave to establish a porcelain works on the rue de 
Reuilly, in the faubourg St. Antoine, and registered the 
factory mark “L.” Although this date occurs as a pos- 
sible beginning, there seems to have been no very con- 
siderable production of chinaware till somewhere about 
1781 when Cadet, Guettard, Lalande and Fontanieu testi- 
fied to the fire-resisting qualities of Lassia’s porcelain. The 
factory was jointly directed by Lassia and Chanou when 
it protested against the restrictive edict of 1784. In this 
same year Chanou left Lassia and set up a factory of his 
own. Four years later, in 1788, Lassia sought to obtain 
the exclusive right to make stoves and mantel-pieces of 
porcelain, but was not successful in his quest. When the 
factory was discontinued is not definitely known, but it 
was not in operation in 1800. 

THE Bopy. ‘The body was of hard paste, hard, 
white and of excellent quality. 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 161 


Tue GuiazeE. The glaze was clear and evenly dis- 
tributed and compared well with the glaze of other con- 
temporary wares. 

ArtictEs Mape anp Contour. From Lassia’s 
application for exclusive right to make porcelain stoves 
and mantel-pieces, it is evident that the factory essayed 
unusual things to a certain extent, in addition to the 
usual articles of manufacture. There were also produced in 
quantity tableware, tea and coffee services and vases. 
‘The contours were of the prevailing Neo-Classic type. 

Types oF Decoration. ‘This factory made exten- 
sive use of grounds produced with on-glaze enamel colours. 
A yellow ground of this sort was especially characteristic. 
Many pieces were also decorated in admirably executed 
gilding on a white ground. The motifs most commonly 
used were flowers, and arabesques of Classic and Renais- 
sance character and the designs were well adapted to 
the pieces. 

Tue Marks. The mark of this factory was an ‘‘L”’ 
in underglaze blue or else painted in gold on the glaze. 
The mark of the independent works started by Chanou, 
when he left Lassia, was “C.H.” in red on the glaze. 
Pieces of his work are rare, but they are of good quality 
and the decorations are well painted. 


Xo 


FABRIQUE DE MONSIEUR, A CLIGNANCOURT CHINA— 
1771-2? 

History. Pierre Deruelle established an hard paste 

porcelain factory at Clignancourt in 1771, and apparently 


carried on work there for three or four years without 
II 


162 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


official authorisation. In 1775 he sought government 
recognition for his enterprise and gave the required noti- 
fication to the authorities at Sévres. At this time he like- 
wise secured the interest of Monsieur, the King’s brother, 
as patron along with the right to style his factory “‘ Fab- 
rique de Monsieur.” 

De Moitte became the director of the works and a 
very considerable output of excellent chinaware was made, 
the factory continuing in active operation until after the 
Revolution. Indeed, so admirable was the quality of the 
porcelain in body and glaze, and of such superior char- 
acter were the gilding and the painted decorations, that 
the wares could well hold their own in comparison with 
the work of Sévres. As a matter of fact, a number of 
pieces were decorated in the fashions reserved by royal 
edict to Sévres, and marked with the crossed and inter- 
woven L’s of Sévres beneath a prince’s coronet. 

This led to a police investigation, the seizure and 
confiscation of the pieces so decorated and marked, and 
the imposition of an heavy fine upon Deruelle. The 
authorities had no inclination to mitigate the rigours of the 
law, for the pieces in question were so good that they 
could readily be mistaken for the work of the royal fac- 
tory. The contours, the decorations and the gilding of all 
the chinaware made at the Fabrique de Monsieur were in 
the Neo-Classic style that dominated the period. 

The mark borne by the earliest china produced by 
this factory was a windmill. After Monsieur became 
patron, a monogram composed of his initials, L.S.X., was 
painted in red on the glaze, sometimes with the addition of 
a prince’s coronet above it. Other marks also occur— 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 163 


the interwoven initials of Monsieur including a D, a D 
beneath a prince’s coronet, and an M beneath a coronet, 
all three were used and applied in red or gold on the glaze. 


FABRIQUE DE LA REINE, RUE THIROUX CHINA—1778 - ? 


History. André-Marie Leboeuf established an hard 
paste porcelain factory in the rue Thiroux in 1778. His 
wares immediately met with such phenomenal success that 
in the following year he was heavily fined for trenching 
upon the privileges reserved to Sévres in the matter of 
certain processes and the style of decoration. Of all the 
factories that may be considered as competitors with 
Sévres, Leboeuf’s was the one of which the Sévres manage- 
ment had most cause to be jealous and apprehensive. If 
Leboeuf’s work is closely compared with that of Sévres, 
it can be seen at a glance why the authorities of the 
latter establishment were greatly disquieted. 

After his uncomfortable experience with Sévres and 
the police authorities, Leboeuf secured the protecting 
patronage of the Queen, who gave him the right to mark 
his china with her monogram or initial. She gave him 
further encouragement by ordering from him some of the 
china for her dairy at Versailles, and also various choice 
pieces which she gave to her friends as presents. From this 
royal patronage and the great popularity his work en- 
joyed, Leboeuf’s china came to be known as “ Porcelaine 
a la Reine.”? After the Revolution the works passed into 
other hands. 


1644 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Both the letter A, in underglaze blue, and A beneath 
the Queen’s crown, in either red or gold on-glaze, appear 
as marks on this truly beautiful china. 


A & 


FABRIQUE DU DUC D’ANGOULEME, RUE DE BONDY 
CHINA—1780- ? 

History. Under the protection and patronage of 
Louis-Antoine, Duc d’Angouléme, Guerhard and Dihl 
opened an hard paste porcelain factory, in 1780, in the rue 
de Bondy. Dihl, a man of broad scientific attainments, is 
credited with being the first to establish a complete 
palette of colours that could be used for the decoration of 
hard paste porcelain. 

This factory successfully reproduced all the under- 
glaze coloured grounds used at Sévres and all the colours 
for on-glaze painting. In addition to tableware, vases 
and ornaments of exquisite quality and enriched with the 
most elaborate decorations, there were made a great 
many excellent biscuit pieces. 

Previous to the Revolution the pieces were marked 
G.A., occasionally set in an oval vignette with a coronet 
above it, in red or gold on the glaze. After the Revolution 
the pieces were signed “Dihl” or ‘‘Guerhard and Dihl, 
Paris,” the mark being applied in various ways. 


KR Dee 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 165 


FABRIQUE DE LA RUE POPINCOURT CHINA—1760- ? 


History. About 1760 Lemaire established an hard 
paste porcelain factory in the rue des Amandiers, Popin- 
court. Nast, the elder, bought the factory in 1783 and it 
afterwards passed to his sons. Both beautiful tableware 
and ornaments were produced in considerable quantity, 
and there were also modelled some exceedingly creditable 
biscuit pieces. The body and glaze were the same as those 
of the other hard paste factories operating in and near 
Paris at the time. ‘The contours and the decorations were 
all in the Neo-Classic manner of the period. When the 
pieces are marked they bear the word “Nast” in red on 
the glaze. 


FABRIQUE DU DUC D’ORLEANS CHINA—1784-1806 


History. ‘This hard paste porcelain factory, estab- 
lished in the faubourg St. Antoine in 1784, in 1786 secured 
the patronage of Louis-Philippe, Duc d’Orléans and was 
hence known as the Fabrique du Duc d’Orléans. Not a 
little good porcelain, well decorated and of some variety, 
was made there, comparing very favourably with the 
chinaware produced at the other independent factories 
in the neighbourhood of Paris. There seem to have been 
two marks, either one of which might be used—the letters 
L.J., interlaced, or the letters O.M. In contour and dec- 
oration this chinaware followed first the fashions of the 
reign of Louis XVI, and later the more severe manner 
of the Directoire period and the Empire. 


Ho LE 


166 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


LAURAGUAIS CHINA—1758- ? 


History. The Comte de Brancas-Lauraguais was 
deeply interested in hard paste porcelain experimentation 
and, having made successful trials with the kaolin and 
felspar found near Alencon, began to make porcelain 
in the west of France about 1758. ‘The paste was at first 
coarse and brownish in colour and the glaze was very 
defective. Later, however, the quality of his porcelain was 
improved although biscuit pieces shewed a somewhat grey 
hue. The ware was rather simply decorated in blue. The 
mark was “B L” interlaced and applied in underglaze 
blue. The factory was chiefly important on account of its 
early date and the part it played in the experimental 
period of French hard paste. 


§ 


STRASBURG CHINA—1748-1754; 1766-c.1780 


History. The making of hard paste porcelain at 
Strasburg was carried on at several different periods. Paul 
Antoine Hannong, a faience maker, early in the eighteenth 
century pursued experiments in making hard paste and, in 
1726, is said to have presented the Strasburg Corporation 
with a service of plates, salad dishes and platters of fine 
white porcelain of his own production. When he died in 
1739 he was reputed the first person to have made true 
hard paste porcelain in France. Whence he obtained the 
necessary kaolin and felspar is not known, but he got 
enough to establish material evidence that he could make 
what he claimed. The one indubitable piece of his making 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 167 


is of a greyish paste with a good white glaze and decora- 
tions painted in pale rose. 

His son, Paul Hannong, who continued to operate the 
faience factory, began to make hard paste porcelain in 
1745, believing that the ancient privileges guaranteed 
Strasburg when it was joined to the Kingdom of France 
would protect him against any action that might be 
brought by the porcelain makers of Saint Cloud and 
Vincennes. Several experienced porcelain makers, one a 
refugee from Meissen and the other lately come from the 
china factory at Hochst, joined forces with Hannong and 
before long the Strasburg factory was putting forth a 
goodly quantity of tableware, flower-pots, and numbers of 
the little painted groups and statuettes for which eight- 
eenth century people had such a passion. 

This venture at Strasburg aroused the fears and 
animosity of the management at the Vincennes factory 
who tried to enforce the privileges that had been granted 
them. Hannong therefore applied for letters-patent, but 
his petition producing no result, he went to Paris and, in 
his anxiety, appealed to Boileau the director of the Vin- 
cennes factory, offering to treat for the sale of his secrets. 
The negotiations came to naught, partly because the 
materials required by the processes were not then believed 
to be obtainable in France, partly because Hannong de- 
manded a cash payment and an annuity which the Vin- 
cennes factory was not prepared to pay. 

But Boileau had succeeded in getting possession of 
Hannong’s secrets, and having done so he treated him 
abominably, securing an order inhibiting Hannong from 
manufacturing any more porcelain at Strasburg and re- 
quiring him to dismantle his oven within a fortnight. Only 


168 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 
through the good offices of the Maréchal de Noailles did 


Hannong gain permission to finish the work he had 
actually on hand. It was after this episode that Hannong, 
with the support and encouragement of the Archduke 
Charles Théodore, established the hard paste porcelain 
works at Frankenthal. 

The second active manufacture of hard paste porce- 
lain at Strasburg began in 1766 under Joseph Adam 
Hannong, the son of Paul, who had remained in charge of 
the faience factory when his father went to Frankenthal. 
His main object was a large commercial output rather 
than the making of ornamental wares. In this policy he 
was successful up to 1780 when the manufacture was 
discontinued. 

Tue Bopy. The hard paste produced at Strasburg 
under Paul Hannong, in the 1745-1754 period, was very 
white but only moderately translucent; the paste of the 
second period, under Joseph Adam Hannong (1766-1780) 
was a somewhat heavy, thick substance of a slightly 
tawny or yellowish tone. 

THe Giaze. The glaze of the first period was apt to 
be imperfect, unevenly distributed, and exhibited a pitted 
or spotted surface; the glaze of the second period was also 
defective and irregular in surface. 

ArticLEs MapE anp Contour. In the first period 
the articles chiefly made were tea, coffee and chocolate 
services, dinner sets and ornamental flower-pots, with a 
certain number of the popular polychrome statuettes and 
figure groups; in the second period the output embraced 
articles of the same sort, with the addition of some pieces 
in biscuit. ’ 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 169 


The contours in general followed the simpler con- 
temporary shapes of Dresden, with a trend towards Neo- 
Classic forms during the second period. 

Types oF Decoration. In the first period the 
manner of decoration resembled that of the flowered 
Strasburg faience, and to hide the glaze defects little 
flowers and insects were disposed seemingly at random. 
The colours most used were rose, purple and bluish green, 
without gilding. In the second period, the same motifs of 
scattered flowers and insects were often used to conceal 
defects of glaze. There were also Chinese motifs, flowers, 
and small country scenes or figures with an entourage of 
vegetation. Besides purple, carmine, indigo blue, green, 
yellow and pale rose, a characteristic bright red was used. 
Edges and mouldings were often lined with violet carmine. 
Gilding was rarely used. 

Tue Marks. The mark of the first period, under 
Paul Hannong, was “P.H.” either in capitals or cursive 
letters, in underglaze blue or, occasionally, in rose or 
brown on-glaze colour; the mark of the second period, 
under Joseph Hannong’s directorship, was *‘ J1” in under- 
glaze blue, often accompanied by figures indicating special 
patterns. The biscuit pieces bore “‘H” in the paste. 


AH 


NIDERVILLER CHINA—1765 —c.1850 


History. The manufacture of hard paste porcelain 
was begun in 1765 at Niderviller by the Baron Jean Louis 
de Beyerlé, one of the King’s Counsellors. The porcelain 
enterprise grew out of the faience works that Baron de 


170 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Beyerlé had established in 1754. Kaolin was brought from 
Germany until Baron de Beyerlé bought some of the first 
kaolin mines at St. Yrieix. 

In 1780 General the Comte de Custine acquired the 
works and Francois Lanfrey became manager. The 
sculptor Lemire, who had worked at Lunéville with 
Cyfflé, came to Niderviller and modelled exquisite vases, 
shepherdesses, children, cupids and sundry other figures 
in the Louis XVI manner. Many of them were made in 
biscuit and materially contributed to the profit and repu- 
tation of the works. Lemire conceived the notion of creat- 
ing in connexion with the factory a school of modelling 
and design for apprentices, a scheme attended with most 
admirable subsequent results. When the Comte de 
Custine died, Lanfrey continued as director and even- 
tually became the owner. After Lanfrey’s death, a M. 
Dryander became director. The factory continued work- 
ing till the middle of the nineteenth century. 

Tue Bopy. The paste at first, under Baron de 
Beyerlé, was white and highly translucent; afterwards, 
under the ownership of Comte de Custine, it was less 
vitreous but of an equally pure white. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze of the Niderviller factory 
was of the best quality and brilliant, closely resembling 
the contemporary glaze used at Sévres. 

ArticLteEs Mapre anp Contour. Besides a great 
quantity of beautiful tableware, tea and coffee services, 
vases and all the other items of usual demand, there were 
produced the numerous biscuit pieces that gave Nider- 
viller a special fame. The contours of the chinaware were 
at first reminiscent of the manner of Dresden; later, the 
forms were more typically French and the Neo-Classic 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 171 


contours of the reign of Louis XVI were followed by the 
Neo-Grec shapes of the Empire period. 

Types oF Decoration. The earliest Niderviller 
china was decorated very much in the styles current at 
Dresden. There were numerous flower subjects, land- 
scapes, polychrome or en camaieu (Plate 59, A), figures, 
and oftentimes scenes were drawn from La Fontaine’s 
fables, the composition being enclosed within a geometri- 
cal frame or border while scattered flowers adorned the 
out-lying ground of the porcelain. Purple, carmine and 
rose were colours much in favour and there was com- 
paratively little gilding. Later, the styles current in 
France were more freely followed and many of the 
favourite flower subjects were painted with great delicacy. 
The cornflower motif, introduced at Sévres, supplied the 
basis for much exquisite decoration. Porcelain flowers 
were likewise made in the Niderviller establishment and 
admirably coloured. Gilding was more largely used in the 
later work. 

Tue Marks. There were no regular marks during 
the years of Baron de Beyerlé’s ownership, although a 
“B” or “A and N” interlaced, and impressed in the paste, 
are said sometimes to have been used. Under the Comte 
de Custine, the mark was first the letters C and N inter- 
laced, and later it appeared as two C’s crossed beneath a 
count’s coronet. In 1792 occurs the mark “N”’, or the 
words “‘Nider” or “Niderviller” in underglaze blue. 
Lanfrey’s mark was C.F .L. interlaced, in underglaze blue. 
When the biscuit pieces and statuettes are marked, it is 
with ‘‘Niderviller”’ impressed. 


oN? oa Mider q> 


172 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


MARSEILLES CHINA—1778- ? 


History. Experiments in the making of hard paste 
porcelain began at Marseilles in 1765. The actual manu- 
facture on a commercial basis seems to have started 
about 1775 or, perhaps, earlier in the faience works of 
J. G. Robert. The earlier ware is generally thick and 
heavy, with a body and glaze of yellowish grey tinge. This 
china was commonly decorated en camaieu in a burnt 
siena colour, the decorations being done rather crudely. 

The later ware exhibits a whiter body and the mono- 
chrome decorations are of much better character. Later 
still, the Marseilles china had a white body and good, 
clear glaze, and was well decorated with flowers in the 
manner of Mennecy and Sévres. The colours especially 
favoured were rose, blue, and a greenish blue, the last of 
which was decidedly characteristic of the factory. 

The marks of this factory were R., J. R. and, occa- 
sionally, F. R., in underglaze blue. 


R Rs 


LIMOGES CHINA—1783 To PRESENT DAY 


History. ‘The Limoges chinaware of modern fame 
started from a not very brilliant beginning. By an edict of 
1783 Massié, Fourniers and Grellet were authorised to 
manufacture hard paste porcelain, the registered mark of 
the establishment being C. D. In May 1784 Louis XVI 
purchased the factory to be used as a branch of Sévres and 
the son of M. Grellet, one of the three promoters of the 
first undertaking, became the director, continuing in that 
post till 1788 when he was succeeded by M. Alluaud. 


A. BOW BLUE AND WHITE PLATE IN CHINESE MANNER 
Creamy paste, slightly bluish glaze; decoration in deep, dull blue 


B. BOW BLUE AND WHITE SAUCEBOAT IN CHINESE MANNER 
Same paste, glaze and colouring 


C. BOW SAUCEBOAT, FRENCH ROCOCO MANNER 


Creamy paste, slightly yellowish glaze; moulded ornament impressed in paste, decoration 
pink, yellow, light blue and bluish green 


D. BOW SAUCEBOAT WITHOUT COLOUR DECORATION 
Prunus blossoms in relief on sides; moulded feet and handle; creamy paste, glaze of yellowish tinge 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 69 


Vy se 


u0jsUISUayY YNOS ‘uMasny Woq~y pue ke1I0JIIA 9Y} Jo AsazIno0d 


: anjq }[eqoo pue MOTIPA 4ST] ‘Uses YSIN[q Yep 
SOTJSTIOJOVIVYO INO[OD pure azey{s ‘aysed auies ‘AIIOq[NU UI UOTJB1OOBp JaMOY ‘ezeIB YsiIn{q A[YsIISs ‘eysed AueeIg 


LOdVdL AVINAOTD MO ‘Z aSvd ONIOING HLIM DAW MOF “V 


PLATE 70 


uoyuIsuay YZNLG 


MOTPA JYBIIQ pue anjq sjed ‘yurd daap 


‘us013 UI UOTye1OD9p Auosd ssaUIyD ‘WII UO foljet Ul papynow ‘imojoo usels YsIn{q pue 
ynoyyIM ‘surossojq snunid 


aLVId MOd “J 


‘ 


uinesny Plog Ty pue eII0JOIA 94} JO As>qIn0d 


$aze[s YsImoTjaA ApjYSI[S ‘aysed Aurteatg plos ‘enj,q 4[eqoo ‘uOoT[IWIaA Ul UOT}ZeIODap 
HSId LINdd GALVAOdAAd MOG “V 


‘ 


aze[3 pue aysed Aulvalg 


PLATE 71 


UO}BUISUSY YINOS ‘unssnyyY Ploq[y PUP BIIOJOIA 944 Jo AsozInoD 


plos pue 
MOTI9A ‘an{q ‘UOTTIUIIeA ‘Usets ‘esol daap 
UL UOI}e1OOap :JUsUTeULO paplnou pure sia 
-MO peT[apoul ‘azR{s ystAois ‘aysed Aureaid 


aaxnold Ga TTa 
-GOW HLIM MOILSHIAGNVO MOH JO 


UOI[IWIIOA 
pue useis ‘MoT[aA ‘Aijaqinul ‘pjos ul ‘inojoo 
punoi3 y[eqoo uo Jeaued paAtasal ut worlze10 
-o9p ‘jusWIeUIO peyeiojiod pue papjlnow ‘parid 
-de pue poljepow ‘azejs ystAei3 ‘aysed AweaId 


GaQNNOwdD 
LIVdOO ddad HLIM ASVA MOW “FZ 


JUIWeULO po}elojiod puv papinow ‘partdde 
pue peljepour ‘azejs ystAeis ‘aysed AWweaI_ 


GALIHM AHL NI aSVA MO 


V 


Pe 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 173 


The work done at this factory was not very impor- 
tant. During the eighteenth century the paste was of an 
ivory colour and the decorations usually consisted of little 
flowers whose colouring was not particularly distinguished 
although the ware was agreeable enough in its way. 

The scheme of a branch factory for the establishment 
at Sévres seems not to have worked very well,and the 
factory was afterwards sold. The works are still in opera- 
tion and producing excellent ware. 

The fame of Limoges china is really due to M. Charles 
Haviland who established works in 1840 to make porcelain 
for the American market. By his energy and well-directed 
enterprise he developed the industry to the highest state 
of perfection in manufacture and the reputation of 
Limoges china is eminently well deserved. As the china- 
ware of the period after 1840, however, does not come 
within the scope of this volume, the subject cannot be 
dealt with here. 7 

When the branch establishment was disposed of by 
Sévres, it was continued by M. Alluaud and is still in ex- 
istence under the name of Pouyat and Alluaud. The paste 
_and glaze were perfected, the body being a pure white, and 
a full palette of on-glaze colours was used. Much of this 
improvement was effected by the end of the eighteenth 


century. 
CD C:0 


VALENCIENNES CHINA—1785-1797 


History. In1785 Sieur Fauquez and M. Lamoniary 
obtained authorisation from the Council of State to open a 
factory at Valenciennes for the making of common or fine 


174 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


porcelain, after the manner of the porcelain of the Indies, 
and a local monopoly of manufacture was granted them 
for ten years, provided they fired their ovens with coal. 
The paste was pure white and the body and glaze of the 
best quality. The contours and decorations reflected the 
styles current at the period. The decorations were exe- 
cuted in a manner consistent with the quality of the china 
(Plate 59, B). In addition to the tableware and orna- 
mental articles, there were produced some good groups 
in biscuit. 

There was also a common and cheaper grade of 
porcelain made and decorated in blue after the fashion of 
the commoner wares of Tournay. The works were finally 
closed in 1797. 

The mark on the pieces of the fine ware consisted of 
the letters L. V. interlaced. ‘The commoner wares were 
marked with the name ‘‘Valenciennes”’ or some abbre- 


viation of it. | 


CAEN CHINA—1798-1808 


History. ‘The hard paste porcelain factory of Caen 
was founded in 1798 and, with the kaolin and felspar ob- 
tained from the neighbourhood of Limoges, produced 
chinaware of excellent quality in both body and glaze. 
The Caen chinaware enjoyed great and well deserved 
popularity, but the disturbed economic conditions of 
France in the early nineteenth century compelled the 
factory to close in 1808. 

The contours of Caen china were those characteristic 


FRENCH CHINAWARE 175 


of the Directoire and Empire periods, and many of the 
shapes shewed much elegance and grace. The decoration 
was of the highest order in point of design, painting and 
gilding. A pleasant yellow ground colour was especially 
characteristic. The beauty and general type of this china 
may be judged from the jug illustrated (Plate 58, A). 

The mark was “Caen” printed in red within a 
cartouche. 


caen 


SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE 
CHINAWARE 


MADRID (BUEN RETIRO) CHINA—1759-1808 (1812) 


History. The royal porcelain factory of Buen Retiro, 
at Madrid, was established in 1759 by Charles III, when 
he became King of Spain. This establishment was an 
offshoot, or, perhaps, it might be better to call it a trans- 
ference of the porcelain industry undertaken at Capo di 
Monte by Charles when he was King of Naples. As we 
have previously seen, in the story of Italian china, porce- 
lain making was a darling project of Charles, upon which 
he spent great sums of money. When he inherited the 
kingdom of Spain and left Naples, he brought with him 
most of the skilled workmen and much of the equipment 
from Capo di Monte, and the inauguration of the new 
industry in Spain was a matter of the greatest solicitude 
to the royal patron. 

For the first thirty years the porcelain produced was 
reserved for royal use and disposal, and even after 1789, 
when a part of the china was allowed to be sold to the 
public, the sale was not large because of the high price 
asked for the wares which were nearly all extremely 
elaborate. Consequently, even in Spain, the Buen Retiro 
china is exceedingly rare. Outside of Spain it is scarcely 
known at all. 

At Buen Retiro both soft paste and hard paste porce- 
lains were made in great diversity of forms and the fash- 


ions of Capo di Monte or Naples, Sévres, Dresden, and 
176 


SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE CHINAWARE 177 


Wedgwood were extensively followed, often with added 
elaboration and magnificence ASSEN to the Spanish 
taste of the day. 

When the French entered Madrid in 1808 they took 
possession of the china factory and did much damage. 
After that, although some porcelain was produced in a 
desultory way, nothing of note was achieved and the 
factory, which the French had converted into a fortifica- 
tion, was destroyed by Wellington in 1812. 

Various marks were employed, amongst them fleur- 
de-lys and crowns used either by themselves or in con- 
junction with letters and monograms. 


At different times, subsequent to the establishment 
of the Buen Retiro factory, china of a simpler but pleas- 
ing character was made at Alcora, Moncloa and Gerona, 
but these factories were small and their output was very 
limited. Nor did they endure any length of time. 


In the latter part of the eighteenth century a small 
quantity of porcelain was also made in Portugal, both at 
Oporto and Lisbon. Specimens of Portuguese china are 
of even rarer occurrence than Spanish china. Buen 
Retiro was the one important establishment in the whole 
Peninsula, and both Spanish and Portuguese china are 
so infrequently met with that specimens need scarcely be 
considered by the collector as possibilities of acquisition. 


12 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 


DRESDEN (MEISSEN) CHINA—1710 To PRESENT DAY 


History. ‘To Johann Friedrich Bottger, erstwhile 
Berlin apothecary’s prentice, belongs the credit of discov- 
ering in Europe the secret of making hard paste porcelain. 

From childhood Bottger had shewn such interest in 
chemistry and aptitude for experiment that he was des- 
tined for the pursuit of medicine. Accordingly when he 
was sixteen years old, he was set apprentice to a Berlin 
apothecary. He straightway plunged into all manner of 
alchemistic studies, and soon his proficiency in that 
mysterious lore was bruited about. ‘The impecunious King 
of Prussia, we are told, hoping and believing that Bottger 
might have mastered the secret of the philosopher’s stone 
and so be able to transmute the baser metals into gold, 
was about to seize him and make use of his knowledge. 
Getting wind of the King’s design, Bottger fled to Saxony 
and, as it turned out, “‘jumped from the frying pan into 
the fire.”’ 

Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of 
Saxony, was quite as much in need of funds as the King of 
Prussia, and here was a gold-maker fallen into his very 
lap. He seized Bottger and set him at work to make gold, 
with the help of a good laboratory, capable assistants and 
ample working funds. Of course the task ended in failure, 
as it needs must, but the chemist T’schirnhausen suggested 
to the King that Bottger’s services and knowledge of 
chemistry, along with the laboratory and apparatus, 


might be used to better purpose in the cause of industry. 
178 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 179 


More gold was to be got by promoting manufactures in 
Saxony than by the fantastic chasing of moonbeams. 
Faience factories were rising and prospering in other parts 
of Germany; why should there not be a faience factory 
in Saxony, and why should it not be a source of substan- 
tial profit? 

The King hearkened readily to this suggestion. 
Bottger and Tschirnhausen were permitted to change the 
object of their work and, instead of labouring to meta- 
morphose iron into gold, they examined and experimented 
with clays and earths. As a result, in 1708 Bottger suc- 
ceeded in producing the famous red stoneware that was so 
hard it could be polished on the lapidary’s wheel. 

The manufacture of the stoneware proved profitable 
and satisfied the King, at any rate for the nonce, but by 
this time Bottger had set his mind on solving the riddle of 
Oriental porcelain which had hitherto baffled its European 
admirers and he pursued his experiments with unre- 
mitting zeal. At last, in 1709, after the death of his col- 
laborator Tschirnhausen, he was able to shew the King a 
few specimens of what was indubitably true porcelain. 
As yet, it was unglazed, but Bottger very soon devised 
the glaze, so that 1709 may be regarded as the dawn of 
hard paste porcelain making in the Western World. 

In January 1710 the Meissen porcelain factory was 
established by Royal Patent. The works were equipped 
in the castle of Albrechtsburg overlooking the town of 
Meissen, a few miles west of Dresden. There the secret 
processes of manufacture could not be spied upon by 
prying eyes. These processes were most jealously guarded 
and for long afterwards the workmen employed were 
virtually prisoners. In the castle of Albrechtsburg the 


180 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


works remained until 1863, when they were removed to 
ampler quarters. 

At the Leipzig Easter Fair, in 1710, were exhibited 
some specimens of the new porcelain, and a few weeks 
later Bottger shewed the King the first painted pieces. 
But though the factory was established by Royal Writ in 
1710, there was still much necessary experimental work 
to be carried on, and it was not until some years later that 
the manufacture of porcelain was put on a commercial 
footing. From 1710 to 1713 at Meissen only the red stone- 
ware was produced for sale. At the Leipzig Easter Fair, in 
1713, the Meissen china was first exposed for public sale, 
and from that time onward its repute increased with 
amazing rapidity. By 1716 the manufacture, as a com- 
mercial enterprise, was well on its way. 

Bottger died in 1719. Notwithstanding the repute 
already acquired by the porcelain of Meissen and the 
rapidly increasing sale of the wares, the financial affairs of 
the factory were in great disorder and a royal commission 
was set to deal with the situation. The difficulties were 
soon adjusted and, in 1720, Johann G. Herold, the 
painter, who had worked in the Vienna factory under 
du Pacquier, came to direct the work at Meissen. He was 
one of the greatest masters of his time, and under his 
influence the products soon shewed amazing improvement. 
Some years later, Johann Kandler, the modeller, joined 
the Meissen staff, and through the work done and the 
inspiration supplied by these two men the china of Meissen 
reached the height of its glory. 

In 1759 and 1761 Frederick the Great looted the 
Meissen factory when he occupied Dresden, and carried off 
a great quantity of the best moulds and models to Berlin, 


PLATE 72 


U0UISUdy YNOS ‘unasnyy WOq Ty pue eII0JOIA BY} JO AsazInNOD 


UOI[IWII9A pue on{q IY SIT 


VY 10} poyou se sino] ewes 34 Ul JoUUeUI UNpseIq ‘useiI3 YSIMOTIOA ‘MOT[OA ‘OANCUI UI UOIZeLODSp ‘yUSUIeUIO posdieId pu 
UI UOTZVIOVVP IgMOY paiojjzeOs teze[s YstAoI3 AT[}YSIS ‘oysed AuIvaI<g peplnou ‘parjdde pue pa[jepou ‘aze[s ystéeis Aj1YsI]s ‘aysed AulesIg 
OJNW VASTHHO GUdVHS-Taadvd “_ GQNVLS GNV HSICG LINAYY GALVAOdAAd MOU ‘'V 


PLATE 73 


UOUISUIY YjNOY ‘unesny Woqly pue eI10}0I1A 94} JO Asajinod 


UOI[IWIIA Peep pue 9NI{q [[Np ‘useI3 Jo sapeys OM4 ‘AlJoq[NUI puke 9ANeUI 
jO sopeys [ei9aes ‘MO][aA aTed Ul UOTJeIOOSp YOasUT PUB AYIE}jNq ‘IaMOY Pete}}¥OS SUNIL pap[nou toze[s oyYM IvaIo 


UALLV1Id TVNODVLOO ONOTEO VASTAHO 


‘aysed Auweaig 


yo IY 


PLATE 74 


uo4ysuUIsusy Y 


plos pue 
uolIuieA dsap ‘moyTjaA ajed ‘anjq asronbin4 
UOIJVIOOIP UOWIIATYVY-IWeas !aze[s 9yIYM IeITO 


a€SVA G4dIS-LHOIG VUSTaHO 


qnog ‘uInesnyy JJOG[Y PUP BIIOJOIA 94} Jo ASozINOdDd 


‘an[q 3eqoo ur 
‘aqsed Awiealg 


cd) 


[eisAss pue Arioqinur 
-09p ‘sUuI}Ny peprnow 


use1 
*‘UOI 


38 JO Ssapeys 
[tus8A [Np 


‘MOTjAA ated worze10 


azZe[s Ystuseis A[IYsI{s ‘aysed AurevaIg 
LOd ALVTIOOOHO CaLNATH VaSTAHO “V 


PLATE 75 


A. CHELSEA FLOWER HOLDER WITH SCALLOPED 
FLARE. TOP 


Creamy paste, clear white glaze; moulded bands and shape; dec- 
oration in violet, light blue, pale yellow, green, vermilion and 
biscuit colour 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


B. LATE CHELSEA COVERED SUGAR BASON 


Creamy paste, clear white glaze; claret coloured ground with re- 
served white panels; decoration in gold, green, blue, pale 
Venetian red and deep mulberry 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 181 


whither as well he transported many of the experienced 
workmen. This interruption marked the end of the most 
distinctive, and perhaps the finest, period of Meissen 
porcelain. 

When work was ultimately resumed, new influences 
that eventually became dominant were already beginning 
to make themselves felt, and the old creative spontaneity 
and enthusiasm were gone. About 1764 the painter 
Dietrich introduced the nascent Neo-Classic spirit into 
Meissen design, and as this influence became more and 
more manifest in both contour and decoration, the prod- 
ucts of Meissen lost much of their erstwhile individu- 
ality, displayed an increasing likeness to the creations of 
other factories, and betrayed a tendency to follow rather 
than to lead, with a perceptible bias for the ways of Sévres. 

When Count Marcolini became director in 1774, the 
Neo-Classic style became paramount in all the new crea- 
tions of Meissen and continued to dominate shapes and 
decoration alike until what have been called the “frigid- 
ities” of the Empire style succeeded at the dawn of the 
nineteenth century. 

In 1814. Kihn became director and numerous tech- 
nical improvements were introduced, the firing was done 
with coal, and the composition of the body was simplified. 
The earlier wares had grown valuable by this time and 
were largely reproduced, which was fortunate, as all 
power of fresh creation had apparently become dormant. 
The factory was moved from the old fortress of Albrechts- 
burg in 1863. In its new environment it has made great 
advances commercially, but “has added little or nothing 
to the progress of art.” 


182 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Bopy. The body, at first, was thick and clumsy 
and the pieces were often warped or fire-cracked. The 
paste exhibited a slightly yellowish tinge, “which Bottger 
himself regarded as a fault, but which most people nowa- 
days would doubtless prefer to a colder and over-white 
tint.”” Owing to lack of quartz or felspar in the composi- 
tion—alabaster was used instead—the early paste is not 
particularly translucent. By a series of experiments and 
modifications, the paste was brought to a pure, hard white 
at an early date and the translucency was increased. 

Tue Guaze. The early glaze produced by Bottger 
was thick but of even distribution, and it was clear, trans- 
parent, and ordinarily free from flaws. The later glaze was 
of thinner body and more brilliant in its general 
appearance. 

ArticLtes MapE Anp Contour. It was only during 
the initial or experimental period under Bottger that the 
output of Meissen was at all restricted in variety. Even 
then, there was considerable diversity in the tea, coffee and 
breakfast services, the cups and saucers, the small vases 
and flower pots, and the less ambitious sorts of tableware 
and decorative accessories. The factory was still young 
when it began to put forth all kinds of tableware, vases, 
and every sort of decorative accessory, as well as the 
figures that were originated there, the modelled flowers, 
and the busts, figures and groups both glazed and in 
biscuit (Plate 62, A). 

The contours, at first, were more or less experimental. 
Shapes were adopted from Chinese models, from metal 
forms, from faience, and from whatever source seemed 
likely to yield material for adaptation. But through all 
this initial stage, the plastic quality of the material was 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 183 


never for one moment lost sight of, and when Kandler 
came to Meissen he had only to carry on and amplify a 
tradition already firmly rooted. 

Under his direction the shapes, from whatever source 
they had been derived in the first instance, began to dis- 
play both local individuality and an unmistakably 
European character. He was imbued with the Rococo 
conceptions of his day and delighted in embodying in 
porcelain forms the subtle curves and moulded scrolls so 
characteristic of the manner. Both the bodies of the 
pieces and the decorations modelled and applied to them 
responded to this impulse. He developed the Rococo 
schemes to such a degree of exuberance that he has some- 
times been regarded, though wrongly, as the originator 
of the mode. He was, nevertheless, an ardent exponent. 
He also introduced shapes with well defined architec- 
tural mouldings, which was a departure sx Chinese 
precedent. 

From 1764 onward, the Rococo contours more and 
more yielded place to the restrained Neo-Classic shapes, 
and these, in due order, at the turn of the century, gave 
way before the modes of the Empire. 

Types oF Decoration. The very early types of 
decoration practised at Meissen included moulding in low 
relief (Plate 62, B), modelling in high relief; piercings and 
fretwork, in the latter of which Bottger and his modellers 
displayed the greatest daring and dexterity alike; painting 
in enamel colours with a rather limited palette; and paint- 
ing in gold alone, which meant arabesques and “gold 
Chinamen” on a flat surface, or Chinese and floral gilt 
reliefs raised from the flat ground of the white porcelain. 
The “‘gold Chinamen,” as they were called, were Chinese 


184 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


figures and attendant motifs painted in gold in silhouette 
on the white porcelain, and made a very interesting and 
effective decoration. Underglaze painting in blue was 
employed, but in Bottger’s time the results were not at all 
satisfactory. The blue pigment ran and occasionally 
formed bubbles, behaviour due probably to impurities in 
the cobalt. Nevertheless, persistent efforts were made to 
overcome the difficulty, and eventually the trouble was 
altogether eliminated and underglaze blue decoration 
became one of the customary processes. China decorated 
in underglaze blue with the ‘‘Strohblumen” and ‘‘onion”’ 
patterns (Plate 60, A), was exceedingly popular and was 
made in large quantities. These patterns—especially the 
former—were so much admired in Denmark and so much 
copied at Copenhagen that in time they came to be known 
as “‘Copenhagen”’ patterns, although they really origi- 
nated at Dresden. 

With Herold’s name are associated the introduction 
of the Japanese Kakiyemon decoration (Plate 76, B), 
which was afterwards widely copied all over Europe and 
was known in England and America as the “‘old Japan” 
pattern; the introduction of armorial services; and the 
popularisation of naturalistic flowers, arranged either in 
organised compositions or else scattered at random in 
sprays and single blossoms (Plates 61, B and 60, B), some- 
times with the addition of insects here and there in the 
intervals between them. Flowers and insects thus 
arranged had the advantage of concealing any chance 
flaws in body or glaze. This type of decoration, also, was 
almost universally copied and has always been regarded as 
peculiarly characteristic of Dresden (Plate 60, B). It was 
not long needed at Dresden for purposes of concealment, 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 185 


but was continued on account of its beauty; many other 
factories, however, found it not only attractive but most 
useful in hiding imperfections. The draperies of the figures 
were often pyed with minute blossoms (Plate 62, A), after 
the manner of the East India printed cottons, a fashion of 
decoration akin to the “‘scattered flower” motif. 

During Herold’s time likewise the ‘“‘brocaded”’ 
Japanese Imari ware, with its strong reds, blues and gold, 
furnished a popular decorative theme, while dragons and 
other distinctly Chinese subjects afforded a wealth of 
material of which the china painters fully availed them- 
selves. Despite the use of these Oriental themes, however, 
the tendency towards purely European methods of decora- 
tion (Baroque gold pattern, Plate 61, A), was constantly 
growing stronger. The “German flowers”? rendered in 
naturalistic manner were followed by landscapes with 
ornate borders; by Rococo scrolls and other characteristic 
Rococo forms, expressed either in colour and gilding or by 
moulded reliefs accentuated with colour and gold; by 
modelled flowers, birds and other objects, used as knobs 
and handles and realistically coloured; by Watteau-like 
panels and arabesques; by landscapes in monochrome 
(Plate 61, A); by diapered borders borrowed from 
Oriental china; and by ground colours with reserved 
panels in which appeared naturalistic flowers, birds of 
brilliant plumage, figures, landscapes and pastoral scenes. 

Although the trend was away from the employment of 
Chinese themes, sometimes the reserved panels in coloured 
grounds, instead of containing the motifs just enumerated, 
were quatrefoil or lobate-shaped and enclosed Chinese 
subjects in polychrome. 

The usual ground colours were pale violet, light blue, 


186 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


purple, brick-red, apple-green and sea-green, while a 
yellow which varied from straw colour to deep lemon was 
particularly successful. Some success attended the ex- 
periments in coloured bodies, and grey, blue, mauve, 
cream and grey-brown were produced. A ‘‘dead-leaf”’ 
brown coloured glaze was also occasionally used. 

By the time the Dresden factory suffered pillage at 
the hands of Frederick the Great, the Rococo influence, 
both in contour and decoration, had not only crowded out 
almost every trace of Oriental elements but, in many direc- 
tions, had reached the most extravagant developments. 

After the resumption of work, the Sévres influence 
became steadily more perceptible in the manner of decora- 
tion, and the usual complement of Neo-Classic forms and 
motifs—already noted in connexion with the products of 
the French factories—dominated the day until they were 
ousted by the more aggressive expressions of the Empire 
mode. Much of the china made at Dresden during the 
period of Neo-Classic supremacy was very beautiful, but 
it was no longer distinctive of the place in its decoration 
as the earlier wares had been. 

Tue Marks. The early Dresden china was marked 
with the letters K. P. M.—meaning Konigliche Porzellan 
Manufactur—with occasional variations to K. P. F. and 
M. P. M. These marks date from about 1719; much of the 
earliest ware was altogether unmarked. About the second 
quarter of the century the crossed swords from the Saxon 
arms appeared as the mark; they were at first painted in 
on-glaze blue and afterwards, when they had learned 
better how to manage it, in underglaze blue. Concur- 
rently with the crossed swords the royal cypher, composed 
of the letters A. R. in monogram, was used on the royal 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 187 


porcelain. About this time, too, appeared the staff of 
#ésculapius. After the Seven Years’ War and the resump- 
tion of work at Meissen, a dot was placed between the 
crossed swords. With the period of Count Marcolini’s 
directorship, which began in 1774, a star was set between 
the crossed swords. 


Ref RPI KY 


BERLIN CHINA—1750 To prRESsENT DAY 


History. With the help of runaway workmen from 
Hochst, the hard paste porcelain factory at Berlin was 
started under Wilhelm Caspar Wegeli in 1750. Some 
excellent tableware and also figures inspired by those of 
Meissen were made here, but business difficulties and 
lack of sufficient interest on the part of the King, who 
seemed to feel that Wegeli’s china was not distinguished 
enough in character to suit his ambitions, drove Wegeli to 
give up the works in 1757. Under Reichard, who suc- 
ceeded him, little advance was made. In 1761 Gotzkowski 
took the works which then acquired all the loot from 
Meissen and a number of Dresden workmen. It was 
Frederick the Great’s ambition that the Berlin china 
should equal or excel the products of Meissen and Gotz- 
kowski’s management becoming involved in financial 
embarrassment, in 1763 the King himself took over the 
establishment and became sole owner. Thereafter the 
factory continued as a royal enterprise. 

Frederick had no intention of keeping the factory 
merely as an expensive plaything. He was determined it 
should pay for itself, and not only pay for itself but make a 


188 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


profit. He accordingly adopted some drastic measures 
towards this end. The Berlin lotteries were compelled to 
distribute 10,000 thalers’ worth of china annually, no 
Jew could obtain a marriage certificate till he had bought 
a set of Berlin china, and in various other ways the sales 
were assiduously pushed. ‘These methods put the factory 
on its feet as a business concern and it entered upon a 
course of prosperity that has continued to the present day. 

Tue Bopy. At first the Berlin china was made of 
materials from Passau and, owing to impurities, the paste 
shewed a yellowish-grey tinge, but about 1771 with 
materials from Silesia and Halle a paste was produced that 
was very hard, dense of texture and a cold white in colour. 
These qualities have been maintained ever since. 

THe GuazeE. The glaze was hard, clear, brilliant 
and technically perfect, but the “‘severe”’ character of 
both paste and glaze made it impossible to secure the 
bright, glowing colour that could be secured with the less 
refractory glaze of soft paste porcelain. | 

ArticLtEs MapE anp Contour. For some time the 
wares produced consisted chiefly of dinner services, tea, 
coffee and chocolate equipages, and breakfast sets, along 
with a few figures, glazed and decorated. Later the wares 
shewed more variety and elaboration and a number of 
ornate vases and other decorative accessories were pro- 
duced, as well as figures in biscuit. 

Although the methods of Meissen manufacture were 
followed and Meissen workmen and decorators employed, 
Frederick’s admiration for French art dictated the fol- 
lowing of French forms and the Rococo style consequently 
flourished at the Berlin factory in a most pronounced 
manner, although not with quite the same extravagance 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 189 


sometimes displayed under Kandler’s inspiration at 
Meissen. Nevertheless, some trivial grotesqueries were 
indulged in, such as making lace decoration by coating 
lace with porcelain slip, the lace being burned out in the 
firing and leaving the pattern behind it. Late in the 
century the Neo-Classic mode made itself felt in contour 
as well as decoration and, in due time, the Empire manner 
succeeded. 

Types ofr Decoration. Underglaze blue decoration 
was much used in the early days of the factory, and 
moulded low reliefs in the form of ribbing, scrolls and 
basket-work patterns were exceedingly favoured. The 
early colour schemes were simple and the palette limited. 
Often enough a scheme was carried out with only rose 
colour and grey, red, black and gold or red, green and gold. 
The palette was subsequently enlarged. The rose-colour 
of the Berlin china was highly characteristic as Frederick 
the Great was very partial to it, but the paste and glaze 
used were of too “‘severe”’ a type ever to get the same 
beautiful rose Pompadour that appeared on the soft paste 
porcelain of Sévres. Landscapes, figures and floral sub- 
jects (Plate 64, A), were frequently painted in mono- 
chrome, and for these rose-colour was much used as well 
as in the combinations with other colours. Diaper borders, 
often in the form of a small scale pattern which the Ger- 
mans called “‘mosatk”’ were freely employed and for these, 
again, the characteristic rose-colour was favoured. Small 
scattered flowers, or small flowers in garlands, wreaths 
and festoons furnished much of the decoration in con- 
nexion with these diapered rose borders; likewise, larger 
flowers in organised composition were not seldom seen. 
There were also a number of coloured grounds with re- 


190 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


served panels in which appeared flowers, birds, landscapes 
and figures. The fashions of Sévres were by no means 
without their visible influence, especially in the latter part 
of the eighteenth century when the Neo-Classic mode was 
paramount. Transfer printing made its appearance about 
the end of the eighteenth century. 

Tue Marks. The mark during the factory’s initial 
period under Wegeli’s direction was a W in underglaze 
blue, with the strokes of the letter crossed. Under. Gotz- 
kowski the mark was a crudely formed G. When the 
factory became a royal possession the mark was a sceptre, 
adopted in allusion to the sceptre borne by the Electors of 
Brandenburg as Grand Chamberlains of the Empire. 
Later, the two sceptres of the Hohenzollerns were used, 
crossed saltire-wise, thus resembling the crossed swords 
of Saxony. 


Los oe 


HOCHST CHINA—1746-1796 


History. At the faience factory of Hochst, a town 
governed by the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, attempts to 
produce hard paste porcelain were made as early as 1720 
but no success attended these efforts until 1746 when A. F. 
von Léwenfinck, a painter who had left Meissen, brought 
thither the secrets of porcelain manufacture. For a 
number of years the Hochst porcelain venture had a 
chequered career. Until about 1760 it seems to have been 
as much engaged in making faience as in producing porce- 
lain. Although some progress had been made and some 
creditable porcelain products achieved, the undertaking 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 191 


was hampered by financial difficulties, and it was not until 
1778, when the Prince-Bishop himself took over the 
factory that satisfactory conditions prevailed. Most of 
the work produced at Hochst closely echoed the traditions 
and practices of Meissen, but in two particulars the fac- 
tory may claim distinction—the quality of the figures 
modelled by Johann Peter Melchior and others, which 
gave the establishment great repute, and the character- 
istic use of two very beautiful enamel colours made from 
gold, a light transparent rose largely employed in figure 
painting and a rich carmine extensively affected in 
rendering monochrome landscapes and scenes. Political 
conditions about the end of the century had a disastrous 
effect upon the fortunes of the factory and it was closed 
in 1796. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The paste of the early porcelain made at 
Hochst had a greyish tone. It was not long, however, 
before the body was brought to the chalky white colour 
common to most German porcelains. 

Tue GuazE. The glaze at first was greyish and 
marked by some flaws. This, too, was soon improved and 
made clear and brilliant. 

ArticLEs MaprE anp Contour. Apart from the 
making of tableware and the other usual items of deco- 
rative requirement, Hochst is famous for its admirable 
figures, groups and portrait medallions, both glazed and 
in biscuit, modelled by Melchior and a succession of 
other capable artists. 

Following the lead of Dresden, the shapes of the 
chinaware for some time were preponderantly in the 
Rococo manner, although the Neo-Classic impulse was 
manifest in the later productions. 


192. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Types oF DrecoraTion. Besides the use of the two 
distinctive colours already mentioned, and their applica- 
tion in the manner pointed out, the types of decoration 
practised at Hochst included most of the Dresden reper- 
toire with its moulded ribbings, basket-work, Rococo 
scrolls and other low-relief ornament (Plate 63, B) raised 
in the paste; fretwork and piercings; ‘‘German flowers,” 
“Indian flowers,” scattered flowers and flowers in com- 
positions, garlands, wreaths and festoons; diapered or 
““mosatk’’ borders; Chinese motifs of different sorts; 
landscapes, figures and scenes; ground colours and re- 
served panels with birds and flowers; and the later com- 
plement of arabesques and Classic elements. 

Tue Marks. The mark was a wheel of six spokes, a 
device derived from the arms of the Archbishop-Elector, 
often topped with a crown or the Electoral hat, and fre- 
quently accompanied by a monogram or initials. Occa- 
sionally the wheel has only five spokes. Up to about 
1770 the mark was impressed in the paste, or else painted 
in black, brown, purple, iron-red, or gold. After 1770 the 
mark almost always appeared in underglaze blue. For 
the most part, the biscuit pieces are unmarked. 


8 @ @ 


NYMPHENBURG CHINA—1747-1862 
(SINCE 1862 CONTINUED IN PRIVATE HANDS) 


History. Under the Elector of Bavaria, Max 
Joseph III, an hard paste porcelain factory was estab- 
lished as a State enterprise at Naudeck, in 1747, with the 
aid of the expert, Joseph Jacob Ringler, from Vienna. 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 193 


Ringler left before the work of establishment was fully 
accomplished and the factory did not get into thorough 
working order, capable of satisfactory and continuous 
production, until 1753. In 1761 the factory was transferred 
from Naudeck to quarters that had been especially pre- 
pared for it adjacent to the Palace of Nymphenburg near 
Munich, and by the name of Nymphenburg it has always 
been known. Under the patronage of the Elector Max 
Joseph, the royal factory flourished exceedingly and, in 
1765, employed two hundred workmen. The next Elector, 
however, felt no especial interest in the making of porce- 
lain and from 1777 to 1799 the manufacture languished 
and the working force of the factory was cut down so that 
it can scarcely be said to have done more than barely exist. 
In 1799 the succeeding Elector determined to restore 
porcelain making to its former importance and new life 
was infused into the establishment. In 1800 some of the 
best workmen from Frankenthal were employed and the 
output of the factory was greatly increased. In 1862 the 
establishment ceased to be a royal factory and passed into 
private hands. ‘The manufacture is still carried on. 

Tue Bopy. The body is a paste of excellent quality, 
white, hard and of dense, smooth texture. 

THE Giaze. The glaze, likewise, is of unexception- 
able quality, perfectly distributed, clear and brilliant. 

ArticLtEs MapE anp Contour. ‘The articles made 
include all the customary ‘“‘useful” tableware and the 
usual decorative adjuncts, but the making of such china- 
ware was thrown somewhat into the background by the 
stress laid upon figures and groups which were of the 
greatest excellence. The sculptor Melchior came to 
Nymphenburg and remained there till his death, pro- 

13 


194 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


ducing some of his finest figures which contributed much 
to the factory’s fame. Apart from the figures, glazed and 
in the biscuit, the only special feature of Nymphenburg 
manufacture is to be found in the food warmers made there. 

In the matter of contour the Nymphenburg china 
followed fairly closely the fashions current at Dresden. 

Types oF Decoration. Underglaze blue painting 
was little, if at all, practised at Nymphenburg and was 
virtually unknown. Moulding and modelling in high relief 
were both employed and the raised and modelled parts 
were accented with colour. Flowers (Plate 63, A), birds 
and landscapes supplied the usual motifs, as elsewhere. 
Landscapes and peasant scenes were often painted in 
monochrome and for this purpose copper green was a 
rather favourite colour. The Nymphenburg decoration is 
marked by great naturalism and delicacy of painting. 
From about 1800 it is also characterised by elaborate and 
well-executed figure painting. It then became a practice 
to decorate the chinaware, and especially vases, with 
minutely finished copies of famous pictures in the Munich 
galleries and although this sort of ornamentation was 
exquisitely rendered, the taste that dictated the practice is 
decidedly questionable. Much Nymphenburg china of the 
period is certainly over-decorated. After 1815 not a little 
of the painted decoration was performed in Munich. 

THe Marks. ‘The usual mark was some form of the 
Bavarian coat of arms, although the six-pointed “‘seal of 
Solomon” now and then occurred with letters or figures at 
the points. Initial letters were also used in conjunction 
with the marks just mentioned. 


x 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 195 


FURSTENBERG CHINA—1746-1753-1888 


History. The hard paste porcelain factory of 
Furstenberg was established by the Duke of Brunswick in 
the castle of Furstenberg on the Weser. The factory was 
organised in 1746 by Baron von Langen with the aid of the 
“‘arcanist’’ Glaser from Bayreuth, but nothing of any 
moment was accomplished until Bengraf, an expert from 
Hochst arrived in 1753, so that manufacture may really 
be said to have begun at that date. The factory flourished 
and produced a large output, but its best period really 
began about 1770. Furstenberg was the one German 
factory that ever used any of the English china as models. 
The work of Bow and Chelsea furnished not a little inspira- 
tion. This connexion was doubtless due to the close family 
ties existing between the royal family of England and the 
Dukes of Brunswick. After a period of decline during the 
Napoleonic wars, the factory gained renewed life and was 
continued in operation till 1888. 

Tue Bopy. The early paste of the Furstenberg 
china was greyish or yellowish in tone owing to impurities 
in the materials, which came from Passau. Later, this 
tone was eliminated and the paste was of the same cold 
white colour and density of texture as the Dresden china. 

Tue Guaze. The early glaze was greyish and full of 
small black specks. The later glaze was clarified, ridded 
of its imperfections, and rendered clear and brilliant 

Artictes MaprE AND Contour. ‘Tableware, decora- 
tive accessories such as vases, sconces, candlesticks and the 
like were made in large quantity at Furstenberg, and alsoa 
great many figures, groups and statuettes, both glazed and 
in the biscuit. 


196 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


It seems to have been the policy at Furstenberg to 
use the wares of nearly all other factories as models so that 
little of a distinctive nature in contour can be ascribed to 
Furstenberg china. The chronological succession of 
Rococo forms, Neo-Classic forms and Empire forms can be 
traced concurrently with the vogue each commanded in 
other places. : 

Types oF Decoration. Accessory to decoration, 
great use was made at Furstenberg of moulded raised 
patterns, such as basket-work, ribbing, fluting, and “webs 
of Rococo scrollwork in low relief.”” Perhaps to conceal 
the imperfections of paste and glaze in the early ware, 
moulded excrescences from the surface were often greatly 
exaggerated, and this exaggeration was characteristic. 
Piercing, fretwork and modelling in high relief were also 
practised, the modelled and applied reliefs which served 
as knobs and handles being coloured and gilt. 

Sea-green and underglaze blue were probably the 
only two ground colours used. A great deal of purple or 
rose-carmine appeared in the painting, both monochrome 
and polychrome. Iron-red was also a favourite mono- 
chrome colour. All manner of subjects supplied moizfs 
for decoration, but the drawing of flowers, birds, figures 
and even of landscapes appeared to have been copied from 
portfolios of engravings rather than to have been inspired 
more directly by nature. The smooth surfaces customary 
during the Neo-Classic period, when there was more 
austerity of form and some renunciation of brilliant 
colour, fostered an improvement in the painted decoration. 
During this period there was an observable tendency to 
make use of Wedgwood models, just as there had been an 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 197 


earlier following of Bow and Chelsea, and also to pattern 
after the manner of Sévres. 

THe Marks. The mark was a capital F in script, 
painted in underglaze blue. The biscuit pieces were 
marked with the running horse of Brunswick impressed 


in the paste. Ke i 


LUDWIGSBURG CHINA—1758-1824 


History. With the assistance of the “arcanist” 
Ringler, who has already appeared on several other 
occasions, Carl Eugen, Duke of Wurtemberg, established 
the hard paste porcelain factory at Ludwigsburg in 1758. 
The factory was maintained by liberal subsidies and highly 
creditable work was produced, but after the death of Duke 
Charles in 1793 a decline set in and the manufacture was 
finally given up in 1824. 

Tue Bopy. The Ludwigsburg paste was made of 
impure materials from Passau and, in consequence, 
always had a yellowish-grey tinge very different from the 
glistering, strident white of the Dresden body. In- 
cidentally, though not considered so technically perfect, it 
is much mellower and more pleasant to look at. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze was of fine quality, trans- 
parent and clear. | 

ArticLtEs MapE AnD Contour. All the usual kinds 
of tableware and decorative accessories were made, and 
likewise groups, figures and statuettes both glazed and in 
biscuit. The contours ranged from those prevalent in the 
Rococo age to the later Neo-Classic and Empire forms. 


198 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Types oF Decoration. Patterns moulded in low 
relief, in the usual devices previously mentioned in con- 
nexion with the wares of other German factories, played 
an important part in Ludwigsburg decoration, and like- 
wise modelling in high relief, the attached reliefs being 
coloured and gilt. The painted decoration was of excellent 
quality and the motifs embraced landscapes, figures, 
flowers (Plate 65), wreaths, garlands, birds and butter- 
flies, and occasionally exquisitely painted beetles were also 
introduced. Lilac was a favourite monochrome colour and 
sometimes small scattered flowers were thus presented. 
The modelling and decoration of the figures were of 
rather exceptional merit. 

Tue Marks. ‘The usual mark was the cypher of the 
reigning duke surmounted by a ducal crown. The cypher 
of Duke Charles was two C’s, back to back and inter- 
laced, in monogram. Sometimes the Wurtemberg shield 
charged with three antlers appears as a mark. The pres- 
ence of a crown has led to the erroneous name “‘Kronen- 
berg’’ sometimes applied to this ware. 


= 


FRANKENTHAL CHINA—1755-1795 


History. The hard paste porcelain factory of 
Frankenthal was established in 1755 by Paul Antoine 
Hannong, under the patronage of the Elector Palatine, 
Carl Theodor. In the account of French Chinaware we 
have already noted the circumstances that led to 
Hannong’s removal from Strasburg where he had pre- 
viously made hard paste porcelain. 


GERMAN CHINAWARE 199 


Excellent china was made at Frankenthal, but there 
were financial difficulties and in 1762 the Elector bought 
the factory and continued the work under capable direc- 
tors. Despite the high character of the products, the 
manufacture was not a success from a commercial point of 
view and the factory was at last closed in 1795. 

Tue Bopy. The body at first shewed a slightly 
greyish tinge, but the paste was soon brought to a state of 
technical perfection in its whiteness and in all the other 
qualities that enter into the question. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze likewise was technically 
perfect and of brilliant quality. 

ARTICLES MApE anp Contour. ‘Table services of 
all sorts, tea, coffee and chocolate services, and all manner 
of decorative accessories were produced, and great stress 
was laid upon making the finest groups, figures and 
statuettes, glazed and in biscuit. 

The work of Sévres and Vienna to a great extent fur- 
nished models for emulation and the sequence of Rococo 
and Neo-Classic contours disclosed more or less resem- 
blance to the individual interpretations of those factories. 

Types oF Decoration. Both the painted decora- 
tion and the gilding were of exceptionally fine character, 
and there was a remarkably full palette of colours in use. 
A deep royal blue ground colour, in imitation of the Sévres 
bleu du rot, was highly favoured, and raised gilding, in the 
manner of Vienna, was successfully executed. A good 
underglaze black was also employed. Landscapes, figures, 
cameo subjects in medallions, landscapes in monochrome 
and polychrome, Classic subjects, birds and flowers in 
many manners supplied the motifs. 


200 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Marks. ‘The earlier pieces are marked with the 
crowned lion rampant of the Palatinate and the initials of 
Hannong (f. A. H.) in monogram. Later pieces bear the 
cypher of ye Theodor surmounted Ch a crown. 


DBL 


THE LESSER GERMAN FACTORIES 


The lesser German hard paste porcelain factories, 
such as Fulda, Cassel, Bayreuth, Ansbach, Wallendorf, 
Limbach and Kloster-Veilsdorf made some creditable 
china, but for the most part their wares exhibit no par- 
ticular individuality. ‘The factory at Fulda, in Hesse, 
patronised by the Prince-Bishop, was a notable exception 
and produced work of the greatest distinction, both in the 
way of table services and figures. The greater part of the 
work, however, put forth by these factories was of com- 
monplace character and some of them indulged in the 
vicious practice of buying slightly decorated ware and 
revamping it with vulgar and over-loaded decoration. 


AUSTRIAN CHINAWARE 
VIENNA CHINA—1718-1864 


History. The hard paste porcelain factory at 
Vienna was founded by a Dutchman, Claude du Pacquier, 
in 1718. This undertaking he accomplished with the aid of 
two runaway employees from Meissen, Samuel Stdlzel 
an “‘arcanist” or expert in mixtures and mechanical 
processes, and Christoph Conrad Hunger, an enameller 
and gilder. 

The factory produced work of admirable quality but 
du Pacquier was embarrassed by financial difficulties and 
eventually, in 1744, the factory with all its recipes was 
bought by the Empress Maria Theresa and thereafter con- 
ducted as a royal enterprise. The factory remained in the 
control of the State until 1864 when it was discontinued. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The paste of the early ware lacked the 
brilliance and whiteness of the Meissen body owing to the 
materials used, but after a supply of better material from 
Bohemia the body was brought to technical perfection ac- 
cording to the accepted standards of hard paste porcelain. 

Tue Giaze. The glaze from the start was good and 
was soon brought to parallel quality with the Dresden glaze. 

ArticLes MapE AND Contour. Besides the custo- 
mary table services and objects of decorative purport, 
the Vienna factory produced a great quantity of the most 
elaborate vases and other ornaments and a large number of 


figures, groups and statuettes, glazed and in biscuit. 
201 


202 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


In the matter of contour, Dresden models and prec- 
edents appear to have supplied most of the impulse until 
the time when the Neo-Classic spirit began to assert itself, 
and consequently the Rococo forms flourished in florid 
exuberance. Even when the Neo-Classic influence became 
dominant, the Vienna factory without achieving any 
particular individuality in so doing managed to impart an 
ornate quality that often verged upon inconsistency. The 
advent of Empire forms gave greater scope for the display 
of sheer splendour and intricate enrichment. 

Types of Decoration. Modelling in high relief, 
moulded ornaments in low relief impressed in the paste, 
piercing, fretwork, painting and gilding—all these decora- 
tive processes were freely employed. The subjects for 
painted decoration included polychrome Chinese motifs; 
Japanese birds and flowers; Imari red, blue and gold pat- 
terns; figures and landscapes; polychrome leafy scrolls 
with flowers, fruit, canopies, and figures, landscapes or 
scenes in cartouches; similar motifs painted in black with 
touches of gold; “German flowers,”’ “‘Indian flowers,” 
Sévres ‘‘chintz”’ patterns, and hybrid flower forms; paint- 
ing done over low reliefs; mythological subjects, battle 
scenes, and puttz with their attendant embellishments. A 
number of good ground colours were also in use. In the 
latter part of the eighteenth century the practice of copy- 
ing famous paintings as china decorations was followed 
to excess and many of the pieces of this time are terribly 
over-decorated. 

In addition to the too lavish painted decorations, 
there was the further enrichment of raised gilding (Plate 
66, A), which required several coats of gold, each succes- 


AUSTRIAN CHINAWARE 203 


sive coat being fired and burnished. Further ornament 
was engraved on this elaborate gilding. The chemist 
Leithner devised a palette of enamel colours more exten- 
sive than was used by any other contemporary factory; he 
produced an underglaze black; and he also introduced the 
use of platinum as well as rich gilding. Altogether, the late 
eighteenth century was a period of the amplest technical 
resources at the Vienna factory, but while some of the 
china then produced commands admiration, not a little of 
it is characterised by vulgar ostentation and indicates 
unpleasantly decadent taste. 

Tue Marks. During the period of du Pacquier’s 
control most of the china was unmarked. After 1744, 
when the factory became Crown property, the Austrian 
shield was painted in underglaze blue. After 1827 it was 
stamped in underglaze blue with a wood block. From 1784 
onward the pieces were dated by the last two figures of the 
year impressed in the paste. 


=i 


HEREND CHINA (HUNGARY)—c.1830 To PRESENT DAY 


History. About 1830, Moritz Fischer established 
an hard paste porcelain factory at Herend, in Hungary. 
He produced a very fine ware, anticipating Sevres and 
Dresden in securing a full range of brilliant colours (Plate 


67, A) on hard paste. 


204 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Most of the product of this factory was in the form of 
clever copies of the finest pieces of Sévres and Capo di 
Monte porcelain of earlier date and the later enamelled 
ware of China. Fischer’s most brilliant triumph was with 
the jewel-like enamelled decoration of cups for the Oriental 
market. The Herend china is marked with the name 
““Herend”’ in very small letters and the Hungarian arms 
are sometimes applied over the glaze. The marks sub- 
joined also appear on Herend china. | 


NE ci 


BK 


SWISS CHINAWARE 


NYON CHINA 


History. During the latter part of the eighteenth 
century, or at the very beginning of the nineteenth, a soft 
paste porcelain factory was established at Nyon, on the 
lake of Geneva. It was founded by a Frenchman named 
Maubrée and during at least a part of its career was 
directed by Robillard, who had previously worked at 
Sévres. The factory was conducted according to French 
notions and French ideals prevailed, both in the fashion 
of the ware produced and in the matter of decoration. The 
influence of Sévres was predominant. 

The paste was white and translucent. 

Only tableware and such small pieces as trays, candle- 
sticks and inkstands were made at this factory. 

Some of the earlier decoration, with landscapes, 
birds and tulips, shews a German influence, but most of 
the china was decorated with violets, roses, cornflowers 
and other small blossoms in a dainty and thoroughly 
French manner. Maubrée was himself at one time a 
flower painter at Sévres. Some of the decoration was 
executed in Geneva. 

The mark of the factory was a fish in underglaze 
blue. Manufacture was discontinued early in the nine- 
teenth century, probably about 1813. 


TE gF”, 


205 


206 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


ZURICH CHINA—1763-1791 


History. In 1763 an hard paste porcelain factory 
was established at Zurich by Heidegger and Korrodi who 
employed Spengler, an expert porcelain maker, along with 
some workmen, from Hochst to assist them in the under- 
taking. The traditions of the Hochst factory were followed. 

The paste had a greyish tone. For a short period soft 
paste was tried, but was soon given up. The chief product 
consisted of tableware and some few decorative accessories, 
and a modeller from Ludwigsburg, Sonnenschein by name, 
modelled a certain number of figures. 

The decorations were largely landscapes and flowers, 
the landscapes usually being of Swiss inspiration. Some of 
them were painted by the Swiss poet, Solomon Gessner. 
The best work of the factory was produced between 1775 
and 1790. 

The mark was a capital German Z in underglaze blue. 
The manufacture was not very profitable and the factory 
was discontinued in 1791. 


Be ee 


DUTCH AND BELGIAN CHINAWARE 


“AMSTEL” CHINA—1764-1810 
WEESP—1764-1771 
OUDE LOOSDRECHT—1771-1784 
OUDE AMSTEL—1784-1799 
NIEUWE AMSTEL—1799-1810 

History. ‘There are only two establishments to be 
taken account of in considering the china made in Holland. 
One of them began at Weesp and had a continuous exis- 
tence under three other names and in three other places. 
The second was at The Hague. 

Dutch china has always been overshadowed by the 
importance and sufficiency of Dutch Delft and, conse- 
quently, the wares produced during the eighteenth century 
never had the necessary stimulus to develope any dis- 
tinctively national characteristics. Nevertheless, a con- 
siderable amount of very good china was made and much 
of it possesses a certain homely charm of “pleasant bour- 
geois character.” 

In 1764. Count Gronsfeldt-Diepenbrock acquired the 
plant of a bankrupt faience factory at Amsterdam, re- 
moved it to Weesp, a little town nearby, and established 
an hard paste porcelain works with workmen from 
Dresden, closely following Dresden tradition and practices. 

The porcelain produced was of such excellent char- 
acter that Count Gronsfeldt-Diepenbrock had no hesita- 
tion in proposing to Sévres a scheme of amalgamation, 
since Sévres was anxious to make hard paste porcelain and 


had not yet reached success in the experiments carried on 
207 


208 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


there. The proposal was considered but not concluded as 
the management of Sévres saw the many possibilities of 
international complications. 

Then followed embarrassing difficulties for the factory 
at Weesp. Holland was flooded with Japanese porce- 
lain at the time, thus affecting the market for native wares, 
and the German workmen were leaving and going home 
again. In the meantime, however, a Calvinist minister, by 
name de Mol, had become much interested in the factory 
at Weesp, regarded it as an opportunity and bought the 
works in 1771. 

He thereupon transferred the establishment to Oude 
Loosdrecht and continued the manufacture of porcelain, 
devoting most effort to the production of “useful” ware. 
Under de Mol’s direction the enterprise seems to have 
prospered and there was a very considerable output of 
china., After de Mol’s death, in 1782, the business was 
carried on at Oude Loosdrecht by a limited company 
until 1784. 

In 1784 the company removed the works to Oude 
Amstel and there continued to make the same quality of 
chinaware until 1799 when the ownership passed to 
another company. 

The new company again moved the works, this time 
to Nieuwe Amstel, and at that place went on making 
porcelain until 1810 when the establishment was finally 
discontinued. 

Tue Bopy. From the very outset, thanks to the 
experienced Dresden workmen who knew and followed the 
tried Dresden processes, the hard paste body was tech- 
nically beyond all cavil, pure white and of the best 
quality, closely resembling the body of Dresden china. 


DUTCH AND BELGIAN CHINAWARE 209 


THE Guaze. The glaze was of the same, even, trans- 
parent brilliant quality as the Dresden glaze. 

ArticLEs MapE AND Contour. The china made 
consisted chiefly of tableware, breakfast sets, ‘‘useful” 
objects of various sorts, small boxes, pots and vases. Later 
a few more ambitious vases with intricate perforations 
were made and towards the end of the Oude Loosdrecht 
phase some busts in biscuit were produced. 

The contours, for the most part, were borrowed from 
German and French sources. The shapes were partly 
Rococo in style but changed to Neo-Classic forms con- 
currently with the march of fashion. The leaning to 
French precedents and models became more pronounced 
towards the latter part of the Oude Loosdrecht period. 

Types oF Decoration. The types of decoration 
were as heterogeneous as the contours. All manner of 
motifs were used. Some of the china was wholly white with 
festoons, sprays, or other ornamental motifs in slight 
relief; the piercings of fruit baskets were often picked out 
with blue; there were moulded motifs with a sparing use of 
colour; cartouches contained small landscapes, birds, and 
polychrome flowers; sometimes there were Watteau-like 
subjects and scenes from Italian comedy; modelled fruits, 
leaves and birds, duly coloured, served as knobs or handles; 
landscapes and cupids were rendered en camaieu; the 
cornflowers of Sévres were frequent; and polychrome 
landscapes, birds and flowers were especially in favour. 

Tue Marks. The Weesp mark consisted of the 
crossed swords of Dresden with two flanking dots. The 
Oude Loosdrecht mark was M:O:L:, rendered in a variety 


of forms. The Oude Amstel mark was the name‘‘Oude 
14 


210 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Amstel” or the letter A. The wares of all the four stages 
of this factory were so much alike that it is difficult to 
distinguish them. 


Mt x THaag- 
M:of. HAF 
A nee 


THE HAGUE CHINA—1775-1785 (?) 


History. ‘The hard paste porcelain factory estab- 
lished at The Hague in 1775 by the Viennese Anton 
Leichner had only a short life, but during its career pro- 
duced some very excellent work. Not only did this factory 
decorate its own ware, but it also decorated a great deal of 
the soft paste porcelain made at Tournai. ‘This circum- 
stance has sometimes led to the impression that The 
Hague factory made both hard and soft paste. Only hard 
paste was made at The Hague. The factory was given up 
at the end of about ten years. 

Tue Bopy. The body was a fine, white hard paste of 
unexceptionable quality, produced according to the 
traditions of Dresden and Vienna and was virtually 
identical with them in character. 

THe Guaze. The glaze was also clear, even and 
brilliant like the glazes of Dresden and Vienna. 

ArTICLES MApE anp Contour. ‘The preponderance 
of china produced consisted of tableware and the more 
usual objects of household adornment. There were, 


DUTCH AND BELGIAN CHINAWARE 211 


however, some elaborate vases made. There was no 
figure modelling and very little moulding in low relief was 
done, the china commonly presenting a perfectly plain, 
smooth surface. Energies were chiefly concentrated upon 
painted decoration which was of an high order. There were 
some late Rococo contours but most of the shapes were 
those of the Neo-Classic type. 

Types oF Decoration. Flowers in polychrome 
were, perhaps, the most usual decorative motifs employed 
at The Hague, but there were also “‘ Boucher”’ children and 
cupids, with surrounding foliage and attributes, en 
camateu; birds of multi-coloured plumage; monochrome 
landscapes, sometimes in grisaille; and antique heads in 
profile, set in medallions with a pale pink ground. This 
last form of decoration was rendered with peculiar success. 

THe Marks. The mark was the city emblem—a 
stork holding a fish in its beak. This mark was painted in 
underglaze blue on the hard paste china made at The 
Hague; it was painted in on-glaze blue on the soft paste 
china made at ‘Tournai but decorated at The Hague. 


BRUSSELS CHINA 
SCHAERBEEK, NEAR BRUSSELS—1784-1791 
ETTERBEEK, NEAR BRUSSELS—1775-1803 
History. The hard paste porcelain factory at 
Schaerbeek, near Brussels, was founded in 1784 by J. S. 
Vaume and continued in operation for only seven years. 
The products consisted mostly of tableware and “‘use- 


212 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


ful’ objects. It is possible that figures also may have been 
made. The Schaerbeek china was moderately decorated— 
landscapes like fine India ink drawings, small scattered 
flowers, landscapes in green, and scattered sprigs in con- 
junction with friezes and festoons of foliage formed the 
usual motifs. 

The mark was a “B”’, with or without a crown, and 
sometimes with the words ‘‘Monplaisir prés Bruxelles,”’ 
in underglaze blue. The mark also occasionally occurred 
in other colours on-glaze. 

The hard paste factory at Etterbeek, also near 
Brussels, was founded by Chrétien Kiihne, from Saxony, 
in 1775. It made tableware, articles of household embel- 
lishment, and groups and single figures, both glazed and in 
biscuit. ‘The decorations were of heterogeneous types, but 
birds, flowers and genre scenes predominated. The mark 
was E. B. in monogram. Little is known of the doings of 
this factory and it is said to have closed in 1803. 


go 
B : 


SWEDISH AND DANISH CHINAWARE 


MARIEBERG CHINA—1758-1788 


History. ‘The porcelain factory of Marieberg, near 
Stockholm, is the only establishment in Sweden we have 
occasion to consider. It began its existence in 1758 under 
the management of a certain Ehrenreich, but succeeded in 
producing nothing save faience until Pierre Berthevin 
became director in 1766. At one time or another various 
Frenchmen of talent were employed and, in nearly every 
instance, contributed materially to the improvement of the 
china produced. The factory passed through a number of 
vicissitudes and made numerous experiments with paste. 
Some of the china made was exceedingly beautiful, but 
the product was limited and the Marieberg ware is not 
plentiful. The manufacture came to an end in 1788. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The paste of Marieberg was an exceed- 
ingly variable quantity. Under Berthevin the body was a 
soft paste akin in composition to the French soft pastes. It 
was highly translucent, of a greenish yellow tone, and was 
sometimes marred by flaws. Between this and the white 
hard paste of fine, smooth texture, made for only two 
years, 1777 and 1778, under the Frenchman Dartou, there 
were many variations, but the most constant form was a 
semi-hard paste, white, slightly translucent, with a 
chalky or limy texture, and of uneven surface. ‘The pieces 
made from this body are those that exhibit a peculiarly 
individual charm. ‘The ware is attractive in appear- 
ance and highly prized, especially in Sweden, but it is 


very brittle. 
213 


214. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Guiaze. The usual glaze, except the brilliant 
glaze on the hard paste that was made for two years, was 
soft and mellow and very like to that of Mennecy, which 
seems to have been regarded as a model. 

ArticLEs MapE anp Contour. ‘The output at first 
consisted largely of custard cups. Other articles of table- 
ware and sundry decorative accessories were gradually 
added until, at a comparatively late date, figures were 
included in the list of products. 

The contours were almost wholly French and, for a 
great part of the time, were fashioned in a moderate 
Rococo manner. ‘Towards the latter part of the factory’s 
career the Neo-Classic trend became evident. Some of the 
early pieces were patterned so closely after the wares of 
Mennecy that they might almost be considered replicas. 

Types oF Decoration. As with the shapes of the 
early Marieberg china, so also was it with the manner of 
decoration. ‘The methods of Mennecy decoration were so 
closely copied at the beginning that, without rigid scrutiny 
and an examination of the marks, it would be difficult to 
distinguish between the pieces. 

Besides the Mennecy flowers and the Mennecy 
manner, other motifs of decoration employed included 
polychrome flowers of a more general character and diverse 
rendering, armorial bearings with garlands, medallions 
with wreaths and festoons, landscapes and genre subjects, 
coloured rims for plates with flowers in the centre, fret- 
work, piercings and modelled flowers that were natural- 
istically coloured, moulded low reliefs such as basket-work, 
foliage and ribbings, flowers in monochrome, small land- 
scapes in iron-red, reddish purple or copper green, en- 
closed within panels, often of quatrefoil shape and, very 


SWEDISH AND DANISH CHINAWARE 215 


frequently, only a few gilded lines on an otherwise undec- 
orated body. Decoration with polychrome flowers was, 
perhaps, the most commonly used. The monochrome 
flowers were often painted in pure blue, in a strong bluish 
green, and in a full rich purple. The last named colour was 
especially characteristic of the factory. 

Tue Marks. There are many variations in the 
Marieberg marks but the most usual mark is some form of 
the three crowns of Sweden, with or without MB. Occa- 
sionally the fleur-de-lys from the royal arms is added. The 
mark occurs in underglaze blue or in red on-glaze. Many 
pieces are altogether unmarked. RAS 


NB NB 
A 


COPENHAGEN CHINA—1756 To PRESENT DAY 


History. About 1756 a porcelain factory was 
opened at Copenhagen with J. G. Mehlhorn, a former 
Dresden modeller, as director. Mehlhorn’s directorship 
seems to have produced no tangible results in the shape of 
porcelain and only experiments were made. It was not 
until 1759, when a Frenchman, Louis Fournier, who had 
worked at both Sévres and Chantilly, came to Copen- 
hagen and succeeded Mehlhorn that a soft paste porcelain 
was made. This soft paste porcelain, whose body some- 
what resembled that of Saint Cloud and Chantilly, was of 
pleasant quality and continued to be made till the end of 
1765, when Fournier was succeeded by Frantz Miller. 
Although Muller continued for a while to make soft paste 
porcelain, he was experimenting with hard pastes of which 


216 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


he produced a sort by 1772 or 1773. This body was much 
improved by 1776 and perfected by 1780. 

Under private management the establishment was 
beset by financial difficulties so that, in 1779, it was 
taken over by the King and then began an highly suc- 
cessful career. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The soft paste body made during Four- 
nier’s management was translucent and of a creamy or 
more or less yellowish tinge while the soft paste made 
under the first part of Muller’s régime had a greyish tone. 
The first hard paste made by Miller was darkish and 
somewhat grey. It was improved until, by 1780, it was 
hard, translucent and pure white. 

THE Guaze. The glaze of the first soft paste had a 
soft, lustrous brilliance and felt soapy to the touch. 
Miller’s early glaze was imperfect and had a yellowish 
tinge. The final glaze for the hard paste body was smooth, 
perfectly transparent and brilliant. 

ArticLtes MapE anp Contour. Under Fournier the 
pieces produced were, for the most part, of small size and 
included bowls, powder-boxes, cups, custard cups, cream 
jugs, sugar-basons, breakfast sets and small vases. ‘The 
list was gradually increased to include full sets of table- 
ware, tea services, flower pots, tankards, tureens, punch 
bowls and a number of decorative accessories. From 1780 
onward much larger, more “‘important” and elaborate 
vases, clock cases, mirror frames and sconces were added 
to the list, along with numerous figures, both glazed and 
in biscuit. 

Although certain German influences in contour could 
be traced from time to time, the French influence was 
clearly predominant. The more restrained Rococo shapes 


+ 


SWEDISH AND DANISH CHINAWARE 217 


were at first prevalent but were gradually supplanted by 
Neo-Classic forms. From 1780 onward the Neo-Classic 
types were universal and were later followed by the Neo- 
Grec shapes. 

Types oF Decoration. Polychrome flowers (Plate 
67, B), in the manner of Chantilly, supplied one of the 
earliest motifs and always remained in favour. Besides 
these, the decorative scope included modelling in high 
relief, fretwork, moulded ornamentation in low relief 
such as ribbings, flutings and foliage patterns, the use of 
ground colours, wreaths, garlands, landscapes, flowers and 
landscapes en camaieu or in two colours such as purple and 
copper green, Classic heads in wreathed and garlanded 
medallions, contemporary portrait medallions, landscapes 
and heads in grisaille, Chinese subjects, a few comics and 
battle scenes, and the minute later flowers such as the 
cornflower motif popularised by Sévres. The gilding was 
good and used in moderate amount. There was always a 
fondness for decorations in blue and white and the 
Strohblumen and “onion” patterns borrowed from Dresden 
were always great favourites and have remained so to the 
present day. They are commonly known as “Copen- 
hagen”’ patterns. 

Tue Marks. The Copenhagen mark is three wavy 
lines in underglaze blue. Many of the earlier pieces are 
unmarked, but from Miiller’s time onward this mark has 
appeared and is still well known on the modern wares of 
the Copenhagen factory which it would be a pleasure to 
discuss did they fall within the scope of this book. 

gga 


ee BF ergs Man, 
ig a, 


RUSSIAN AND POLISH CHINAWARE 
ST. PETERSBURG CHINA—1744 


History. The Imperial Russian china factory was 
established in 1744 under Christoph Conrad Hunger who 
had managed the Vezzi factory in Venice for five years and 
had also gained his experience at Meissen, Vienna and 
elsewhere. Under his régime little was produced and he 
was soon succeeded by other directors. Until 1753 little 
was produced but small articles such as cups, saucers, 
jugs, and snuff boxes which were used as presents from 
the Court, although some statuettes were made as early 
as 1752. | 

A great change took place about 1763 when the prod- 
ucts became partly commercial. ‘The factory was con- 
tinued under Imperial control. 

There were two grades of ware made, the body of one 
being pure white and of the finest hard paste quality, the 
other being not pure white and of somewhat variable 
tinge. The glaze was good. Besides tableware and splen- 
did vases, figures were produced both glazed and in bis- 
cuit. At first all the decoration was in the Dresden manner 
with “gold Chinamen,” and monochrome landscapes and 
flowers in purple or green with gold or black. Later the 
range of colours increased and there were scenes from 
daily life, landscapes, animals, and multi-coloured birds 
and flowers. Most of the decoration was in a very gorgeous 
manner and highly elaborate, the best manners of Dresden 


and Sévres being closely followed. 
218 


RUSSIAN AND POLISH CHINAWARE 219 


The china was marked with the Imperial Russian 
eagle and with the initials or monograms of the rulers, 
either impressed in the paste or painted in black or gold. 

There were also china factories in Moscow and at 
Korzec in Poland where not a little good china was made 
and decorated in an acceptable and highly characteristic 
manner. 


*K 
TK. 
PAPAHEPZ C 4 A] 


Le Bree 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 


BOW CHINA—1745-1776 


History. Up to almost the middle of the eighteenth 
century, whatever experiments in porcelain making may 
have been conducted previously, there was no established 
china factory in England. For her chinaware England had 
been dependent upon the Orient or else upon either the 
soft paste products of France or the hard paste china of 
Germany. Of all three kinds she had had abundant 
experience, and all three kinds were sufficiently repre- 
sented throughout the length and breadth of the Kingdom. 
The people knew and admired chinaware, and there was 
no danger of its being confounded with Delft earthenware 
imitations, no matter how cleverly they were made. 

About the middle of the century there was a deter- 
mined effort to establish china factories in England and to 
make wares for home consumption. There are fugitive 
notices of sundry ventures in this direction and some of 
them, in all likelihood, succeeded in producing tangible 
results of a more or less satisfactory nature, though scanty 
in quantity, before coming to an untimely and unrecorded 
end. The two earliest china factories to achieve an endur- 
ing foothold and put forth a substantial volume of finished 
wares of recognised commercial and artistic worth were 
Bow and Chelsea. 

The early history of the Bow factory is wrapped in 
obscurity. It was at Stratford-le-Bow, in Essex, and at 
some early stage of its career—perhaps from the very out- 


set—it was called ““New Canton.” In December 1744 a 
220 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 221 


patent was issued to Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye 
empowering them to engage in the manufacture of china- 
ware. A second patent was issued to Frye alone in 1749. 
What had been going on in the meantime is not certainly 
known, but it is not unreasonable to assume that attempts 
at china production had been made and rewarded with 
some measure of success. We shall probably not be far 
wrong in assigning 1745 as the date for the inception of 
the factory, and in regarding the years between then and 
1750 as the period of small beginnings inevitable for a 
private enterprise of the sort, unaided by any princely 
patronage or royal subsidy, as were so many undertakings 
of a similar nature on the Continent. 

At all events, by 1750 the mist of uncertainty clears 
away somewhat and we reach our first definite, authentic 
information which shews that the works then belonged to 
the Messrs. Crowther and Weatherby who had entered 
into partnership in that year. It was in 1750 that the 
first known piece of Bow china was made, although it was 
doubtless not the first fruit of the factory’s existence. 
Thomas Frye, one of the original patentees, appears as 
manager, and in that capacity he continued till 1759, when 
he retired because of ill health. Much of our information 
regarding the Bow factory is gathered from the note- 
books, diaries and memorandum books of John Bowcocke 
who was the commercial manager and traveller for the 
works. : 

The policy of the Bow factory seems to have been to 
place its chief reliance upon products of a distinctly com- 
mercial nature and to devote its efforts mostly to making 
and selling “useful” wares. In the announcement of the 
first auction sale of Bow china, held in 1757, is duly adver- 


222 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


tised “‘a large assortment of the most useful china in Lots, 
for the use of Gentlemen’s kitchens, Private families, 
Taverns, etc.’’ 

It was customary in the eighteenth century for the 
china factories in England, besides maintaining shops or 
warehouses for the sale of their goods, to hold auction sales 
in London at certain intervals in order to dispose of any 
surplus stock they might have on hand, to popularise 
further their products, and to introduce any new crea- 
tions they might have devised since the preceding sale. 
These sales sometimes covered a period of a fortnight or 
even longer. 

The first London warehouse for the sale of Bow china- 
ware was opened in 1753 in Cornhill, near the Royal Ex- 
change. Just after the first auction, in 1757, which took 
place at the rooms of Cock & Co., “‘in Spring Gardens, 
leading into St. James’s Park,” an advertisement 
announces the opening of a second warehouse: 


**For the convenience of the nobility and gentry, their warehouse 
on the Terrace in St. James’s Street is constantly supplied with every- 
thing new, where it is sold as at Cornhill, with the real Price marked on 
each piece without Abatement.” 


This west-end venture, however, seems not to have met 
with the measure of success its promoters had hoped for it, 
and it was given up the following year, its stock of china 
being disposed of by auction. 

From his memoranda and accounts, we learn that 
Bowcocke made journeys throughout the country to 
further the sales of the chinaware and, in 1758, the records 
shew that he was eight months in Dublin on the same 
errand, receiving frequent consignments of chinaware from 


PLATE 76 


“ale, “TBUPERSINOVL, TMEUANS 
Shaped edge and slightly moulded rim; garland and scattered flower decoration 


B. LOWESTOFT CUP AND SAUCER 
Moulded flutings and small flower decoration 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 223 


the works and disposing of it by auction. The policy of 
relying mainly upon china of a more or less commercial 
description for profit seems to have brought success, for a 
period at least. Bowcocke’s account book shews £10,000 
cash receipts in 1753, and from the statement of T. Craft, 
a former employee, we learn that the works kept between 
two and three hundred people busy. 

Frye’s retirement from the works, it appears, marked 
the first stage in the course of decline. Weatherby died in 
1762, and in 1763 Crowther, the remaining partner, be- 
came bankrupt. In May, 1764, the stock in trade of the 
Bow factory was sold by auction, but in some way, and 
probably on a greatly reduced scale, Crowther managed to 
carry on the business for some years afterwards. The 
London Directory for 1770-1775 records the warehouse of 
John Crowther, of Bow China Works, at number 28, St. 
Paul’s Churchyard. In 1776 the entire business was sold 
for an inconsiderable sum to William Duesbury of Derby, 
the moulds, models and all other effects were removed, 
and thus ended the existence of the Bow factory. In 1777 
Crowther was admitted an inmate of Morden College, 
Blackheath, and in that safe haven he spent the residue of 
his days free, let us hope, from carking business anxieties. 

From the emphasis laid by its owners upon the com- 
mercial purveying of “‘useful”’ wares by the factory, it 
must not be inferred that Bow china was lacking in 
artistic merit, nor that the makers were at all blind to 
either the desirability or necessity of combining excellence 
of quality, grace of contour, and beauty and variety of 
decoration in the porcelain they put forth. While stressing 
the fact that their products were primarily useful as well 
as beautiful, they made not a few excursions into the 


224 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


realm of the purely ornamental, as the many statuettes 
and groups that issued from the Bow factory bear witness. 
In all likelihood these were made at Bow throughout the 
greater part, if not the whole, of the factory’s career. If 
they could not be placed in the “useful” category, they 
had all the same a definite commercial value for they were 
most popular chimney-piece and table adornments, from 
the cottage and farmhouse to the manor and hall. 

While some of the pieces made at Bow were not such 
as to commend themselves to the taste of every china- 
lover, and others would unquestionably be treated by 
nearly everybody with scant respect if they had been 
made only yesterday and not an hundred and seventy- 
five years ago, nevertheless the great bulk of chinaware 
that issued from ‘‘ New Canton” was of a quality to com- 
mand hearty admiration. All manner of articles were 
made, and they were made with great diversity of contour 
and decorated with a rich variety of patterns. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body or paste of the Bow china was 
a variable quantity. Mr. Burton pertinently observes that 
““much trouble will . . . be saved collectors and others 
if they will look upon the Bow body as varying from time 
to time within fairly wide limits.”” The very early Bow 
paste was neither particularly white nor particularly 
translucent. It is obviously not a bone-ash body but the 
rich paste of glassy or soft paste porcelain, of similar 
quality with that of Chelsea. It has a distinctly warm, 
creamy tint and is translucent enough where the ware is 
thin, but quite opaque where it is thick. When fractured, 
it shews the dry, gritty or granular texture of other soft 
paste china and the break never exhibits the glossiness of 
partial vitrification characteristic of hard paste. It seems 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 225 


highly probable that the formulas for the early paste of 
both Bow and Chelsea were derived from a common 
source, and that the common source was someone well 
acquainted with the processes followed at Saint Cloud, 
Chantilly and Mennecy-Villeroy. It was in such a way 
that the knowledge of porcelain making usually travelled. 

Much of the Bow paste, especially the later paste, is 
exceptionally hard, a quality perhaps to be accounted for 
by the presence of the bone-ash or some of the other in- 
gredients subsequently used in the course of experimenta- 
tion. It was doubtless to this continued experimentation, 
in the effort to achieve hard paste or its nearest approxi- 
mate, that the differences in the Bow body were due. ‘The 
late pieces are better potted than those of early make, 
thinner and of much whiter body, but they are poorer in 
substance; the pieces of the middle period are inter- 
mediate in quality. 

Tue Giaze. The early Bow glaze, which is rich in 
lead, shews a slightly yellowish tinge and is apt to gather 
in the hollows of embossed patterns and at the base of the 
pieces. It is peculiarly soft, mellow and satin-like both to 
sight and touch. ‘The glaze of the later ware is quite dif- 
ferent in appearance, being perceptibly harder and more 
brilliant. For the blue and white ware the glaze was often 
slightly tinted with blue, a device adopted from the 
Chinese so as to bring the blue of the decoration and the 
colour of the body more harmoniously together and avoid 
any harshness of tone. 

ArticLes MapE AnD Contour. Besides the “‘use- 
ful”? articles of chinaware made at the Bow factory, a 
category which included every description of tableware 
for all occasions and every accompaniment of tea tackle, 

15 


226 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


there were vases, flower pots, candlesticks, sconces, 
“Girandoles and Branches for Chimney Pieces,” ink- 
stands, patchboxes and all the usual accessories for writing 
and dressing tables. There were also large numbers of the 
modelled figures and statuettes always in great demand. 

The contours of the earlier china were perceptibly 
influenced by Chinese (Plates 68, B and 69, B) and 
Dresden prototypes, but often displayed a good deal of 
independent interpretation. The figure work, of course, 
was in the first instance of Dresden inspiration but soon 
assumed a thoroughly English character. While the 
Oriental and Saxon influences were still strong in the ex- 
pression of contours, the Rococo influence of Sévres made 
a profound impression and Rococo shapes enjoyed marked 
popularity for a long time. The factory was discontinued 
before Neo-Classic tendencies became dominant. 

Types oF Decoration. The types of decoration 
employed at Bow were exceedingly varied and were in- 
spired by both Chinese (Plates 68, A and B; 70, A and 
B), and Japanese examples, on the Oriental side, and by 
Dresden, Chantilly, Mennecy and Sévres (Plate 68, C) 
precedents, from the Continental angle. 

The decorative processes included moulding, piercing 
(Plate 70, A), modelling in relief, painting, transfer print- 
ing and gilding. The white Fuchien ware of China sup- 
plied the inspiration for the white pieces decorated with 
sprigs of ‘‘prunus” (Plates 68, D and 70, B) or plum 
blossoms in relief, of which many were made. Other types, 
too, of relief floral ornament were moulded and luted on to 
the surface of the pieces (Plate 71) they were meant to 
adorn. Much use, also, was made of moulded patterns 
impressed on rims of plates and other parts of table china. 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 227 


The prunus blossom supplied a frequent motif for this 
purpose as well as divers other floral items, and this 
moulded ornament, though left uncoloured itself (Plate 
70, B), was not seldom used in conjunction with painted 
decoration immediately beside it. 

In surveying the coloured decoration, first of all must 
be mentioned the blue and white ware, painted in under- 
glaze blue, obviously inspired by the blue and white 
K’ang Hsi porcelain of China (Plate 68, A and B). If not 
made from the inception of the factory, its production 
began soon after and was continued in large quantities. 
The account books shew it was highly popular and con- 
stantly in demand. While the decorative inspiration of 
this ware was unmistakably Chinese—and many of the 
contours were Chinese, too—the execution was patently 
English. Powder blue ware was also imitated, with shaped 
white panels in reserve on which appeared various Chinese 
motifs either in blue or else with polychrome flowers, birds 
and butterflies. Some of the Chinese ware with solid dark 
blue glaze was imitated to a certain degree. A few of 
the motifs on the blue and white Bow china suggest a 
Delft origin. 

Probably the most popular type of polychrome deco- 
ration, and one of the earliest produced, was the Kakiye- 
mon mode or, as it was commonly called, the ‘‘old Japan” 
pattern. Even when it was not literally rendered, all sorts 
of adaptations from it made their appearance. Pieces 
painted in the Kakiyemon manner were frequently en- 
riched with points of old dull gilding. The Japanese Imari 
decoration was also reproduced, though to a less extent. 

Other Oriental motifs followed were the Chinese 
peonies (Plate 70, B) and chrysanthemums in poly- 


228 ‘THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


chrome, Chinese diapered borders for the rims of plates 
and edges of dishes, Chinese fighting cocks and other birds, 
and figures in the manner of the ‘‘Mandarin” china so 
esteemed about the middle of the eighteenth century. 

Flowers scattered at random in the so-called Dresden 
manner, and flowers gathered in bouquets and bunches 
(Plates 69, A and B), after the fashion of Chantilly and 
Mennecy, were common motifs of polychrome ornament, 
as also were small flowers gathered in garlands, wreaths 
and festoons, and likewise larger groupings of a few flowers 
or fruits painted with great naturalistic precision. ‘The 
rims of dishes and plates that were adorned with this last- 
named sort of decoration were sometimes painted with a 
broad band of brownish grey. Other edges, especially on 
early pieces made before gilding was extensively practised, 
were often painted with a narrow line of reddish brown. 
There were, furthermore, plates and dishes moulded in the 
form of leaves; these were coloured according to nature. 

Some of the china was enriched with heraldic bearings 
and further decked with little scattered multi-coloured 
flowers and diapered rims, much in the manner called 
‘““Lowestoft.’? Amongst the later wares were pieces with 
ground colours and reserved panels in which appeared 
figures, flowers, gaily-coloured birds, or Watteau-like 
groups in polychrome, very much in the manner of Sévres. 
Occasionally decorations were executed altogether in gold 
on the white porcelain ground. 

Still further, there were pieces decorated with land- 
scapes, groups of figures, and country scenes, in grey, 
rose-violet or red en camaieu, in the manner of Mennecy, 
Vincennes or Sévres. These latter were not painted but 
printed with transfer designs. In some cases, where there 


PLATE 77 


A. WORCESTER TEAPOT 


White paste, excellent clear glaze; decoration adapted from the Japanese Imari bro- 
cade patterns in red, gold, green and blue 


B, WORCESTER PLATE 


White paste, clear glaze; decoration inspired by Japanese Imari patterns, in red, deep 
blue and gold 


Courtesy of the British Museum 


PLATE 78 


LATE WORCESTER PLATE 


White paste, clear glaze; Empire style decorations in goid on ground-coloured rim, naturalistically 
coloured landscape in centre. 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


PLATE 79 


A. WORCESTER BLUE AND WHITE BOWL 
Decoration in deep blue in the Chinese manner; white paste, clear glaze 


B. WORCESTER PLATE WITH DEEP BLUE GROUND 


Paste white, clear glaze; shaped white panels reserved in deep blue ground colour, reserved 
panels containing multi-coloured motifs; remote Japanese Imari influence 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


PLATE 80 


WORCESTER CHOCOLATE POT WITH SWELLING BASE 
White paste, clear glaze; attenuated Mandarin figures in pale but varied colours 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 229 


was not so much elaborate detail, the outlines were printed 
in transfer and filled in with different colours painted on. 
The printing of transfer designs seems to have been done 
at Battersea. Oftentimes, where the centre of a plate or 
platter is filled with a transfer design, the border surround- 
ing the rim is painted, thus indicating an early stage of the 
printing process. 

Although in old sales lists and advertisements it is 
sometimes noted that the “‘old Japan” pieces were ‘most 
beautifully painted by several of the first masters from 
Dresden,” it is much more likely that they were executed 
wholly by English hands. Thomas Frye, the manager, 
was an artist of no mean capacity and whether he himself 
did some of the painting or not, he was quite competent 
to direct all the operations without foreign assistance. 
Designs were gathered from all manner of sources and 
either adopted outright or else adapted to suit the cir- 
cumstances. It was not an unusual thing for patrons to 
lend choice pieces of Oriental or Continental china in their 
possession to serve as models. As only one instance of this 
sort, may be quoted a memorandum in the factory records 
of 1756: “Patterns received from Lady Cavendish: a 
Japan octagon cup and saucer, lady pattern; a rib’d and 
scollop’d cup and saucer, image pattern; a_ basket 
bordered dessart plate; a Japan bread and butter plate.”’ 

The little Bow figures or statuettes, many of which are 
full of charm, were painted in bright colours in a manner 
appropriate to the subjects represented, although it is gen- 
erally considered that their colouring was less satisfactory 
than the colouring done at the rival Chelsea works. 

Tue Marks. A very large quantity of Bow china 
was unmarked. On the pieces marked, various devices 


230 ‘THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


occur. Of these, the anchor and dagger, usually painted in 
red or a reddish brown, it is important to remember. 
There is also sometimes found an arrow, with or without 
an annulet; likewise the monogram F. The caduceus and 
the bow and arrow marks are considered of doubtful 
import. Divers other marks, often mentioned in con- 
nexion with Bow, are of doubtful attribution. 


Lt} # 


CHELSEA CHINA—1745-1770 


History. Like the early history of Bow, the ear- 
liest chapter of Chelsea’s history is scant and involved in 
uncertainty. 

What we know is that the Chelsea factory was work- 
ing in, or slightly before, 1745 and that in that year were 
produced the celebrated “goat and bee” cream jugs with 
the legend “‘ Chelsea, 1745” scratched in the paste before 
it was fired—sufficient evidence that the establishment 
was in existence and functioning. It is also recorded that a 
group of Staffordshire potters went to work in 1747 at the 
Chelsea China Manufactory. Becoming disgruntled, they 
left and returned to Staffordshire, an event which seems 
not to have affected the Chelsea works in the least for it 
went blithely on in its course of progress. 

What we believe to be likely is that the factory was 
established by or, at least, managed by one Charles 
Gouyn, who is said to have been either a Fleming or a 
Frenchman, and that his skilled workmen came from 
France and Germany. Gouyn’s identity and personality 
are largely conjectural. In his exhaustive book on Chelsea 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 231 


china, William King points out that “the strong resem- 
blance between early Chelsea porcelain and that produced 
by the French soft paste factories renders it highly pos- 
sible that Chelsea was started by some refugee from St. 
Cloud, Chantilly or Mennecy, and if this be so, Gouyn 
may well have been the individual in question ”’ It is also 
likely that Sir Everard Fawkener was deeply concerned 
in the inception of the Chelsea factory and may have been 
responsible for financing and establishing it. He was at 
first a merchant and accumulated a comfortable fortune. 
Upon being knighted, about 1735, he was sent as ambassa- 
dor to Constantinople; in 1744 he was made secretary to 
the Duke of Cumberland, and, in 1745, was given a 
lucrative post as joint postmaster-general. We shall 
meet with Sir Everard again further on. 

Be all these things as they may, about 1749 Nicholas 
Sprimont appears on the scene and Charles Gouyn disap- 
pears shortly thereafter. Hence onward, the main facts 
of the factory’s career are no longer obscure. Nicholas 
Sprimont, said to have been a Frenchman, but certainly 
some time a silversmith by trade with a shop in Compton 
Street, Soho, becomes manager and directs affairs so 
capably that the enterprise grows and prospers apace. 

Sprimont directed the concerns of the factory with 
energy and discretion, and displayed great good taste in 
determining the character of the wares put forth. While 
not despising the manufacture of things of common use for 
which there was necessarily a constant demand, it must 
be confessed that Sprimont’s efforts seem to have been 
more keenly bent in the direction of making elegant and 
elaborate articles and in multiplying the variety of prod-_ 
ucts. Nevertheless, such was the distinction and charm of 


232 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Chelsea china that the greater stress upon decorative 
considerations seemed not to prejudice financial returns. 

Every conceivable thing that could be made of 
porcelain was made at Chelsea. Advertisements of sales 
and sales catalogues—some of the old sales catalogues have 
fortunately been preserved—acquaint us that “ Epargnes 
and Srvices for Deserts, beautiful Groupes of Figures, etc., 
complete Table Sets of round and Oval Dishes, ‘Tureens 
and Plates, with the greatest Variety of other useful and 
ornamental Pieces”? are to be disposed of; that “a large 
and beautiful Lustre, richly ornamented with flowers anda 
fine figure of Fame sounding a trumpet,” “‘a most sig- 
nificant Lustre in the Chinese taste,” and ‘‘a most grand 
Lustre . . . with Flora and Cupids in the middle” are 
all within the reach of an eager public; that there are 
“‘several very curious Deserts, used at the most elegant 
and great Entertainments and now divided into proper 
Lots: Consisting of Domes, Temples, ‘Triumphal Arches, 
Epargnes, etc., embellished with Trees, Arbors, Flowers, 
China Figures, Vauses, Girandols, Candlesticks, Branches 
and other Ornaments used at Desarts, with several sets 
of China Dishes, Plates and Tureens,”’ awaiting pur- 
chasers; and that desirous customers may be accommo- 
dated with the “greatest choice of Branches with the best 
Flowers, such as were on the Chandelier at the last Sale; 
and upward of three thousand of those Flowers to be sold 
by themselves so that Ladies and Gentlemen may make 
use of them in Grottos, Branches, Epargnes, Flower-pots, 
etc., agreeable to their own taste.’’ Nor were the fore- 
going by any means all. The catalogues include many 
other diverting conceits. 

By 1754 the business was in a flourishing condition. 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 233 


There was a warehouse for the sale of Chelsea china in 
Pall Mall, as well as the shop at the factory. Also, in 
the spring of that year occurred the first sale by auction of 
surplus and special stock and this sale lasted fourteen 
days. Again, in 1755 and 1756, sales were held lasting 
sixteen days. Then came a period when Sprimont was ill 
and the production of the factory was diminished. By 
1757 the warehouse seems to have been moved to Picca- 
dilly. After Sprimont’s recovery, or partial recovery, the 
Chelsea factory took on a new lease of life, many new and 
rarely beautiful decorations were put forth, and the 
annual sales were resumed. Sir Everard Fawkener died 
in 1758 and, about that time, Sprimont became owner of 
the works. 

But Sprimont’s health was failing. At the end of the 
advertisement for the sale of 1761 appeared this notice: 


“The Proprietor, V. Sprimont, after many Years intense Appli- 
cation, has brought this Manufactory to its present Perfection; but 
as his Indisposition will not permit him to carry it on much longer, he 
takes the Liberty to assure the Nobility, Gentry, and others, that 
next Year will be the last Sale he will offer to the Public.” 


As a matter of fact, there were other sales for some 
years. Sprimont continued to make periodic farewells, 
like a prima donna, for eight years longer and did not 
retire till the summer of 1769, during all which time the 
beautiful Chelsea wares appeared for sale. Finally, in 
August 1769, he sold the factory and all its equipment to 
James Cox, and in February, 1770, Cox sold it to William 
Duesbury and John Heath of Derby. 'Thus ends the story 
of the Chelsea factory as an independent organisation. 

Some years before this disposal of the Chelsea plant, 
despite the outward appearances of prosperity and the 


234. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


maintenance of brilliant achievement in the wares pro- 
duced, it became evident that the financial affairs of the 
factory were going from bad to worse and that there was 
little likelihood of improvement. This was partly due, no 
doubt, to the keen competition of other china factories 
that had been established, partly to Sprimont’s failing 
health. Consequently, he was glad to relinquish the busi- 
ness and, after the disposal of stock by the 1769 sale, Cox 
got “‘the kilns, mills, models in wax or lead, all the manu- 
factured or unmanufactured porcelain,” and ‘‘all the 
materials and utensils,’’ as well as the lease, for £600. 

Although the factory had ceased to be a profitable 
concern, Sprimont retired in comfortable circumstances. 
He had an house in town and a country place in Dorset, 
and kept his own carriage. But he was not long to enjoy 
release from the anxieties of the porcelain works. He died 
in 1770. 

Duesbury continued work at the Chelsea factory, 
using it as a branch of the works he had established at 
Derby in 1756. Upon this status the Chelsea works were 
kept in operation until 1783, when Duesbury decided to 
concentrate all his activities at Derby. The china made 
during this period of close association is known as Chelsea- 
Derby china. When the factory in Chelsea was finally 
given up, all the skilled workmen, along with the moulds, 
models and other trade appliances, were transferred to 
Derby. The kilns were demolished in 1784 and everything 
not deemed worth the cost of removal was destroyed. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The Chelsea body exhibited three dis- 
tinct phases, the first from the beginning of the factory to 
about 1750, when Sprimont deemed it expedient to harden 
the paste. This second period lasted till about 1759, 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 235 


when renewed energy was manifested after Sprimont’s 
illness. ‘Then it was that the body was brought into closer 
conformity with the body produced at the other English 
factories. 

The paste of the first period was soft, very trans- 
lucent, of fine granular texture, warm creamy colour, and 
closely resembled the paste of Saint Cloud and Chantilly. 
The paste of the second period, introduced about 1750, 
was harder, less translucent, of a sandy, granular texture, 
but still of a mellow creamy tone. The earlier pieces of this 
period are apt to be heavy and thick and are occasionally 
warped in the firing; the surface, also, is sometimes un- 
even. It has been suggested that the change may have 
been due to introducing finely ground Oriental porcelain 
into the composition of the mixture. Whether this was the 
case or not, the so-called “‘moons”’ in the body are char- 
acteristic of this period—small, moon-like discs, more 
translucent than the rest of the paste, visible if the piece is 
examined by transmitted light. The paste of the third 
period was modified by the addition of bone-ash, of which 
a large percentage was introduced into the composition. 
This bone china paste was still harder, of smoother and 
closer texture, white, and easier to manage in the firing. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze of the first period was rich, 
soft, unctuous, mellow, and waxy to the touch. It often 
shewed minute pinhole flaws. The glaze of the second 
period was much more perfect in distribution, soft, 
mellow, and of pleasant waxy aspect. The glaze of the 
third period was harder and more brilliant. 

ArticteEs MapE anp Contour. As already men- 
tioned, the articles made at Chelsea were of manifold 
diversity. Besides the table services, tea, coffee and 


236 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


chocolate services, the figures, the usual articles of house- 
hold adornment, and the items mentioned in the cata- 
logues quoted in the foregoing History, there were sundry 
pretty trifles such as buttons, bottle stoppers, trinkets for 
watch-chains, knobs for walking-sticks, thimbles, smelling 
bottles, snuff-boxes, patch-boxes, inkstands and divers 
other objects suggested by active inventive faculties. 

In general, the contours of the articles produced were 
influenced by three chief sources of inspiration—Oriental 
forms (Plate 74, B), types characteristic of Dresden 
manufactures, and the shapes in use at Sévres. Just how 
and when these types were manifested, we shall see in the 
section on Types of Decoration. ‘The Rococo influence, as 
might be imagined from the date of Chelsea manufacture, 
was most conspicuously in evidence. 

Types oF Decoration. While the types of decora- 
tion followed at Chelsea plainly point to the Orient, 
Dresden (Plates 72, B; 73; 74, A and 75, A), and Sévres 
as the three main springs of influence, the themes drawn 
thence were either imitated outright or else used as a basis 
for adaptation. Models of all three were carefully studied 
whenever the Chelsea designers could gain access to them. 
Pieces were sometimes borrowed from friends and patrons, 
as pointed out in the account of Bow, or sometimes the 
factory tried to buy good things outright for its own per- 
manent collection. Of the latter course we have an in- 
stance on record in a letter written by Sir Charles Hanbury 
Williams, June 9th, 1751, to Henry Fox. Sir Charles 
Williams was then British Plenipotentiary at Dresden and 
while he was absent from England Fox was keeping his 
china at Holland House. This enlightening bit of cor- 
respondence was published in the Burlington Magazine. 


PLATE 81 


WORCESTER VASE OF LATE PERIOD 


White paste, clear glaze; moulded ornament; gold decorations with figures in naturalistically 
coloured landscape with panel reserved in ground colour 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


PLATE 82 


WORCESTER CHOCOLATE POT WITH DOMED LID 
White paste, excellent clear glaze; decoration in semi-Imari manner with red, 
deep blue and gold predominating 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


PLATE 83 


WORCESTER SOUP PLATE 
White paste, clear, smooth glaze; engraved and transfer printed design in dull green monochrome 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


EARLY WORCESTER MUG OF DR. WALL PERIOD 


Creamy white paste, clear transparent glaze; bright apple green ground colour w.th shaped 
and reserved white panel bearing polychrome flower decoration 


Courtesy of the Museum, Royal Worcester Pottery 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 237 
The writer of the letter says: 


“I received a letter about ten days ago from Sr. Everard 
Fawkner who is I believe concerned in the manufacture of China at 
Chelsea. He desired me to send over models for different Pieces from 
hence in order to furnish the undertakers with good designs; and 
would have me send over fifty or three-score pounds worth. But I 
thought it better and cheaper for the manufacturers to give them leave 
to take any of my China from Holland House and to copy what they 
like. I have therefore told Sr. Everard that if he will go to your house 
you will permit him and anybody he brings with him to see my China 
and to take away such pieces as they may have a mind to copy.” 


This letter not only indicates clearly the manner in 
which many of the best Chelsea designs were obtained, but 
also throws valuable light on Sir Everard’s close connex- 
tion with the Chelsea factory. Sir Charles Williams hada 
valuable collection of china and that part of it to which his 
letter doubtless had special reference was a dinner set pre- 
sented to him in 1748 by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony. 
It included “‘a dessert service with sweetmeat dishes in the 
form of artichokes, laurel leaves, sunflowers and double 
leaves, as well as tea and coffee sets, spoons and knife and 
fork dishes.” 

Vegetable-shaped dishes, leaf-shaped dishes and 
dishes made in the semblance of animals and birds were 
common in Dresden china of the period and the strong 
Dresden influence can be seen in such articles produced at 
Chelsea as well as in the figures and groups—some of 
which were direct copies—and in the extensive use of 
patterns moulded or impressed in low relief upon the paste 
in the form of basket-work, ribbing (Plate 74, A), flowers, 
Rococo scrolls and other ornaments. | 

The direct Oriental influence was not extensive and, 


238 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


with few exceptions, was Japanese rather than Chinese. 
The most conspicuous Japanese influence is seen in the 
Kakiyemon and Imari designs of which much use was 
made. There is constant reference to the Kakiyemon 
styles under such names as “tyger and rock” pattern, 
“old Japan,” “‘wheatsheaf and pheasant,” “‘pheasant and 
border,’ and “lady pattern.” 

The Sévres influence came later and was clearly indi- 
cated by the florid Rococo shapes, especially in the case of 
vases and other decorative pieces, the use of ground 
colours and reserved panels, the manner of gilding, and the 
motifs employed for the painted decoration. 

The ground colours included a rich Mazarine blue, 
turquoise blue, pea-green, sea-green, red, yellow and a 
rich claret colour (Plate 75, B), the last being quite dis- 
tinctive of Chelsea and never produced anywhere else. 
With these ground colours there were reserved panels in 
which appeared well painted naturalistic flowers, birds 
with gay plumage, fruits, landscapes, figures, pastoral 
scenes and scenes of gallantry after the manner of Watteau 
and Boucher. Besides these painted decorations in re- 
served panels, there were endless flower motifs—scattered 
flowers, flowers in organised compositions, garlands, 
wreaths and festoons. 

There were also landscapes detached from any panel 
setting and to some extent both landscapes and flowers 
were rendered in monochrome, at a certain period a green 
camatieu being much favoured for this purpose. 

After William Duesbury bought the Chelsea factory 
and all its equipment in 1770 the Chelsea manner of 
decoration was continued, but certain changes became 
evident in this Chelsea-Derby period. For one thing, the 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 239 


elaborate Rococo shapes of vases and ornamental jars 
were discontinued and in their place appeared the more 
austere and simpler shapes inspired by Neo-Classic taste. 
Motifs from the ‘‘antique” were employed and all the 
painted decoration became much “tighter” and laboured. 
Also there was a tendency to over-decorate and load orna- 
ment on to excess. The rich claret-coloured ground, so dis- 
tinctive of Chelsea, was discontinued, or when attempts 
were made to produce it it appeared diluted and washed 
out. The beautiful pea-green and turquoise grounds also 
experienced much the same sort of dilution. 

Tue Marks. A very early mark, seldom met with, 
is an incised triangle. The usual early Chelsea mark is an 
embossed oval with an anchor in low relief. Occasionally 
the embossed anchor was touched with red enamel colour. 
Later it was customary for the anchor to be drawn by the 
painter or gilder when he had finished the decoration, and 
although it sometimes occurs in blue, it is generally to be 
found in red or a reddish brown. The gold anchor is 
generally found on the later pieces when very elaborate 
gilding was in fashion at the works. In a few cases, two 
gold anchors are found side by side. 

In the Chelsea-Derby period, from 1770 to 1784, the 
mark consisted of the anchor of Chelsea in conjunction 
with the D of Derby. This combination of marks seems to 
have been used indifferently for the pieces produced both 
at Chelsea and at Derby during this period when both 
establishments were under the same ownership. 


240 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


WORCESTER CHINA—1751 To PRESENT DAY 


History. About the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, some prominent residents of Worcester were deeply 
concerned at the languishing industrial condition of the 
city. At the instance of Doctor John Wall, who had con- 
ceived the plan of establishing china manufacture as one 
means of remedy for the stagnation, in 1751 fifteen gentle- 
men incorporated a company entitled “The Worcester 
Tonkin Manufacture” to put the scheme into immediate 
operation. 

The capital subscribed was apportioned in forty-five 
shares of £100 each, and five of these shares were pre- 
sented to Doctor Wall and William Davis, apothecary, in 
recognition of “their discovery of the art and secrets of 
porcelain making” which they were making over to the 
company. 

Whence these “secrets” were obtained is not re- 
corded, but the actual working knowledge of formulas and 
processes was doubtless supplied by some experienced 
workmen who had gained that knowledge in another 
factory. It was only such intimate knowledge that could 
ensure immediate and satisfactory results and avoid a 
long period of costly experiments. A paragraph in the deed 
of incorporation named R. Podmore and J. Lyes, two 
skilled workmen, to whom special considerations were 
promised in the shape of occasional gratuities and a small 
percentage of profits in order “‘to ensure their fidelity.” 
It is plain, therefore, that these two were to supply the 
technical experience. 

In July, 1751, Warmstry House, an old mansion near 
the Cathedral, was leased and adapted to the purposes of a 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 241 


factory. Kilns were constructed and a staff of workmen 
got together. 

In the Gentleman’s Magazine of August, 1752, a sale 
of the newly made wares was advertised to commence on 
the 20th of September next following. Only small articles 
were made at first, for the kiln capacity was limited. But 
these small articles were of a useful sort, and the stock 
was soon increased to include the whole range of table- 
ware. While aiming to produce chinaware of engaging 
appearance, the directors also endeavoured to put forth 
wares that would be thoroughly serviceable for table use 
and general domestic purposes. They were well aware 
that the china of Chelsea and Bow, however beautiful it 
might be, often came to disaster when brought into sudden 
contact with hot water. They knew that this shortcoming 
hindered its popularity and caused a preference for Oriental 
china that was not affected by sudden changes of tempera- 
ture. They therefore tried to make a denser, harder body 
with better heat-resisting qualities and, at the same time, 
to follow Oriental models of shape and decoration that 
would compare favourably with the Chinese porcelain 
that was admittedly the standard. 

Working to this double purpose, they succeeded in 
obtaining a paste that met the requirements of durability 
and resistance to heat, and also produced tableware so 
closely identical with the chinaware imported from the 
Fast that they advertised in the Oxford Journal in 1763 
to inform the public that “‘services of Chinese porcelain 
can be made up with Worcester porcelain, so that the dif- 
ference cannot be discovered.’”? And what they promised, 
they were able to perform. 


About 1768 a number of Chelsea decorators were 
16 


242 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


employed on the staff at Worcester, and with their advent 
on the scene larger and more elaborate pieces were made 
and the scope of decoration was considerably broadened. 
Nevertheless, with all the improvements and beautiful 
as the Worcester china undoubtedly was, the sales did not 
come up to justifiable expectations and there seems to 
have been some radical defect in the business management. 
Dissensions arose amongst the proprietors and there 
was a reorganisation in 1772 as a result of which the fac- 
tory passed into the control of a smaller number of part- 
ners. After Doctor Wall’s death, in 1776, the affairs of the 
factory sank into a discouraging state and, in 1783, 
Thomas Flight, who had been for a long time the com- 
pany’s London agent at their warehouse in Cheapside, 
bought the whole establishment for £3000 and his sons, 
Joseph and John, assumed the management of the works. 
Very soon after the change of ownership, Robert 
Chamberlain, who had been the first apprentice of the 
Company in 1751 and had risen to the post of head 
decorator, left and with his son set up an independent 
china decorating establishment nearby in Worcester, ob- 
taining his undecorated china from the Caughley factory. 
He was so successful in this venture that in 1788-89 
he built kilns at Diglis, in Worcester, and began to manu- 
facture porcelain on his own account in opposition to the 
original factory at Warmstry House. Needless to say, 
there was keen rivalry and intensely bitter feeling be- 
tween the two establishments, especially as they were 
both making virtually the same kinds of china. 
In 1793 Martin Barr was taken into partnership with 
the Flights, the firm then being known as Flight & Barr. 
In 1807 Martin Barr the younger was admitted to part- 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 243 


nership and the firm then became Barr, Flight and Barr. 
In 1829 the last of the Flights died and the factory was 
carried on by the Barrs. 

Meantime, the rival factory of the Chamberlains had 
prospered and grown firmly established. New partners 
had been taken into the business from time to time, and 
there was no sign of abatement in the ruinous competition 
between the two concerns. Finally, in 1840, the two 
factories were amalgamated and, after several subsequent 
readjustments of partnership, the establishment was 
vested in a joint stock company under the name of the 
Worcester Royal Porcelain Company, which has con- 
tinued in operation to the present day. 

Tue Bopy. In all likelihood, the first paste was 
closely analogous to that first used at Bow and Chelsea— 
a fritted soft paste rich in glassy constituents. Very soon, 
almost from the first in fact, soapstone or steatite was 
used, a much harder and more infusible but less translu- 
cent paste resulting. The soapstone body continued in use 
till well towards the end of the century. Bone-ash may 
have been used in small quantities as early as 1760. 
Between 1800 and 1810 numerous experiments were 
made to improve the paste, and about 1810 the bone porce- 
lain body, composed of china clay, china stone and bone- 
ash, was finally adopted. 

The earliest body was creamy in colour; the soap- 
stone body was less creamy though mellow and not dead 
white; the bone-ash body was whiter, but not the dead, 
cold, glittering white of German porcelain. 

Tue Graze. ‘The earliest glaze, rich in lead, had a 
soft luscious quality of surface; the glaze of the soapstone 
body was less fusible and had a certain amount of ground 


244 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Oriental porcelain in its composition and some oxide of 
tin, which rendered it slightly opalescent or pearly and 
contributed to the Chinese-like quality of the blue and 
white ware; the final glaze was harder and more brilliant. 

Artictes Maprt anp Contour. From the first, 
stress was laid upon the manufacture of useful articles 
rather than cabinet pieces. For a long time tableware was 
the chief product and elaborate vases and ornamental 
pieces were rarely made. E'ven as late as 1769, the cata- 
logue of the auction sale in London, a sale that lasted for 
five days, mentions only four or five sets of covered jars 
and beakers. 

After the coming of the Chelsea painters in 1768, 
however, there began a new development at Worcester 
and larger and more elaborate pieces began to be made, 
while even the ordinary tableware reflected the new in- 
fluence in the manner of its decoration. Eventually, a 
certain number of large and ornate vases (Plate 81), cov- 
ered jars, beakers, candelabra and the like were made, but 
the main emphasis of the factory was always placed on 
tableware and allied adjuncts. 

At the very outset, Chinese types (Plate 80) often 
served as models of contour, for Chinese porcelain was 
regarded as the standard to be emulated. At a later stage 
the shapes made at Sévres exerted an appreciable influ- 
ence, but there was never any approach to the exagger- 
ated Rococo forms in use at that factory. Worcester 
Rococo was Rococo under restraint. From about 1770 
onward the contours shew perceptibly the Neo-Classic 
trend and about 1800 and immediately afterwards the 
Neo-Grec influence was visible. Worcester never ran to 


PLATE 85 


uo4sUISuUsy YNOSG 


SOpIs 94} UO sjaued odvospur] o14SI[BIN}eU PaAtesal pue sUOT}eIODIp 


WNnIsnW Weq[yY pue eI10491A JY. JO AsazInod 
SUOqqI1 94} 10} 


41s e4eIOqe[a W4IM INO]OD punois anj{q deep ‘teze{s sIealo ‘aysed 9yIY MW punoi3 ‘ssuripueq pue so[puey 
GIT G4ddVHS HLIM HSIC WALLaAd IVAO AGAdd “V 


aSVA AHUAd “Z 


. S 


a 


Ino[Oo ssol pue ‘use13 


ated ‘moT[aA ‘asueIO JUING Ul sIaMOY p9aUO004saj 


309} popyia $ 


azeis Ievalo 


‘ 


‘aid ysmn{q snojoo 


aysed Aureaig 


PLATE 86 


U0{BUISUay YANO ‘unasnypY Jeq{Y PUe eII0JDIA BY Jo Asoyinoy 


p[o2 pur ya[ora doap ‘pei uerjaua A doap ‘use13 ysIMo]aA a] ed pue MoOTTaA 
ystusei3 ajed ‘anjq yep pue 43] UI JNO patie ul9q4ed YIM posyt 
-pow uoreudsut ewy asouedel !ystuse13 A[,YBIIs oze [3 ‘aysed Aweay 


NOILVAOOUd IAVWI HLIM ALVWId AMAA ‘F_ 


use18 JYUSI]T pue pros ‘ eniq daop ‘UOl[IWIIaA Ul UOTyeI 
-O09p YIM ‘WII paprarp Ayyesids fystuse13 A[Y SIs oze[s ‘oysed AuIeaI9g 


Uuadaod GCAAAMOTd HLIM ALVWId AGUYAd “V 


PLATE 87 


U0BUISUDY NOG ‘uINesNY WOq[Y pue eILOJOIA ay} Jo AsazyInod 


pjos pue evuars 4uing ‘anjq ‘usei8 yy aI] ‘MoTjaA 


‘9sO1 JYBIIG Ul UOT}VIOOSp tazeis Ul a9suUrT 


4 


IMOd AGA 


Yystuseis yuleT ‘ 
a, 


o}IYM 948eg 


dsap 


‘ 


JA[OIA pur UdeIs 4YBI| 
p[Os ul UOTZeLOOSNp snbsaqeie 


‘ 


UOT[IUII9A doap ‘MOT[AA 


‘ 


9Ze [3 SSa{INO[OO IesI[o 


YaoOnNVS ANV dno AGaAdd “V 


aM 94Seq 


PLATE 88 


PLYMOUTH COVERED GARNITURE JAR OF CHINESE SHAPE 


White paste, glaze slightly greyish or smoked; decoration in yellow, 
green, mulberry, purple and deep Venetian red 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 245 


extremes of contour, however, and Rococo, Neo-Classic 
and Neo-Grec interpretations were always moderate. 

Types oF Decoration. A very few of the earliest 
known Worcester pieces are in white, but they are so rare 
that it is hardly worth while enumerating them under 
Types of Decoration. Moulded decoration in low relief 
was largely employed in the shape of basket-work, ribbing, 
fluting, flowers, scrolls, and the favourite embossed pine- 
cone or imbricated pattern. Modelling in high relief was 
little resorted to. Piercing and fretwork for such articles 
as fruit baskets were freely used. ‘The moulded pieces also 
included such articles as the cabbage-leaf jugs with 
masques under the spouts, pickle dishes, artichoke cups 
in the form of leaves, and rockwork and shell stands for 
sweetmeats. 

Chinese porcelain was more imitated (Plates 77, A and 
B; 79, A and 80) at Worcester than anywhere else and 
nowhere else were the imitations so successful. During 
the first fifteen or twenty years all the best pieces of blue 
and white ware were (Plate 79, A) produced, the designs 
being mostly Chinese. Transfer printed decoration was 
first used about 1757 and the designs were engraved by 
R. Hancock. The printed pieces, as well as those bearing 
landscapes, figures and fanciful scenes, often displayed the 
portraits of popular heroes, such as the Marquis of Granby 
or the elder Pitt. These transfer designs (Plate 83) were 
admirably wrought and appeared in black, blue, purple 
and red. The underglaze blue printing was not used 
before:1770. 

After the coming of the Chelsea painters in 1768 the 
underglaze blue for the blue and white ware continued to 
be used but, in addition, we find underglaze blue in the - 


246 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


form of powder-blue grounds and scale blue, with panels 
reserved for “plants, exotic birds, fruit and flowers in 
brilliant enamel colours” (Plate 1). Besides the blue 
grounds there were apple-green (Plate 84), pea-green, 
bright canary yellow, sea-green, French green, turquoise 
blue and a purplish crimson somewhat approximating the 
wonderful Chelsea claret colour. There were also radiating 
trellis and vine patterns, rose sprays, landscapes, Watteau 
pastorals and woodland scenes, patterns wholly in blue and 
gold, scattered flowers, flowers in bouquets, garlands and 
wreaths, designs adapted from the Japanese Imari ware 
(Plates 77, 79, B and 82), and, from 1790 onward Classic 
figures executed in bat printing which gives a delicate 
stippled effect, and designs taken from the work of 
Angelica Kauffmann, Cosway and Bartolozzi. During the 
Flight and Barr period the decorations were more precisely 
painted (Plate 78) and gave an impression of “‘tightness;” 
there was also a tendency to over-decorate the pieces at 
this time. The so-called “‘dress services”? with armorial 
bearings enclosed by overly ornate borders were good 
examples of this unfortunate trend. 

Tue Marks. ‘The earliest mark was a W in script. 
The usual mark was a crescent which may occur simply 
in outline, in solid colour, or with shaded lines. It is usu- 
ally in underglaze blue, but is sometimes found in on-glaze 
red or gold. The early printed pieces had not these factory 
marks but generally had the inscription ““R. H. Wor- 
cester”? minutely engraved amidst the ornamental scrolls 
or on the groundwork. This mark was commonly accom- 
panied by an anchor. “R. Hancock fecit” is likewise 
found on a few of the early pieces printed in black. 

During the later periods from 1783 to 1840 the names 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 247 


or initials of the firm are impressed in the paste, painted 
in underglaze blue, and painted or printed in red on-glaze, 
fae rrichts or “Fricut,” “Frienr & Barr,” 
“FriicHt, Barr & Barr,” “Barr, Fricut & Barr,” 
“F. B. B.,” and “B. F.B.” The earlier of these are occa- 
sionally accompanied by the crescent. After 1788 the 
mark is surmounted by a crown. 

Chamberlain’s factory generally marked their china 
with “‘Chamberlain’s”’ in script, or with ‘‘Chamberlain’s, 
Worcester,” with or without the address of the London 
agency. The later Chamberlain marks are often printed. 


me UCU CCCUK CCF. 


DERBY CHINA—1755 To 1848; 1848 To PRESENT DAY 


History. The Derby china factory was established 
by William Duesbury in 1755. Duesbury was the son of a 
Longton potter and for some years prior to the establish- 
ment of the porcelain factory he had been a china painter 
in London, executing commissions for Chelsea and Bow, 
now and again, purchasing undecorated wares and paint- 
ing them, or painting special pieces to the order of private 
customers. About 1754 he seems to have been at Longton 
Hall helping Littler with his porcelain factory. 

In 1755, with the financial aid of John Heath, he 
started the factory at Derby, converting a few cottages 
into workshops and erecting kilns. Comparatively little is 
known of the factory and its work until 1770 when Dues- 
bury bought the Chelsea factory. As we have already seen, 
he kept both factories in operation until 1784, in the mean- 
time buying out the establishment at Bow when it was 


248 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


offered for sale. After 1784 all the work was conducted at 
the Derby factory. 

William Duesbury, who was apparently a clever 
business man and an able manager, died in 1786 and was 
succeeded in the conduct of the works by his son, the 
younger William Duesbury who carried on the business 
until 1795. In 1795, during the minority of the third 
William Duesbury the factory was conducted by his step- 
father, Mr. Kean and the firm was known as Duesbury & 
Kean. This partnership was dissolved in 1811, owing to 
family dissensions, and the business was sold to Robert 
Bloor who had been a clerk and salesman during the 
former partnership. 

Bloor was altogether commercially minded and for- 
sook the standards that had previously prevailed. For a 
while the factory was highly prosperous, but the cheap- 
ened wares and the lowered standard of decoration 
brought the inevitable nemesis and the business fell off 
sadly. In 1828 Bloor became deranged and the factory 
was carried on under a managing clerk, its fortunes sinking 
lower and lower until it was finally closed in 1848. 

A small factory was then started by a group of the old 
Derby workmen with a Mr. Locker, formerly chief clerk, 
as the manager. From this nucleus a business grew up 
which has been carried on to the present day. In 1876 a 
new and altogether distinct company was formed which is 
known as the Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company. 

Tue Bopy. While there is no definite information 
to be obtained respecting the body and glaze of the 
earliest Derby ware, it was almost certainly a glassy or 
soft paste like the body first in use at Bow and Chelsea. 
By 1764 experiments had evidently been in progress for 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 249 


improving the composition of the body. It was then that 
Richard Holdship, one of the partners of the Worcester 
company, in a most unprincipled and dishonest manner, 
betrayed the interest of his own organisation and engaged 
“to impart in writing to Duesbury and Heath his secret 
process for making china according to the proofs already 
made by him, and to supply them with all sufficient 
quantities of soapy rock at fair prices.”’ Presumably the 
Derby body was improved and hardened as a result of this 
underhand deal. There seems also to have been a change 
about 1770 for one of the first things Duesbury did on 
buying the Chelsea factory was to send ten bags of bone- 
ash from there to the plant at Derby. About the end of 
the century the regular bone porcelain composition, com- 
prising, china clay, china-stone and bone-ash, was adopted. 
The early body had a mellow creamy tone, and this 
mellowness was never wholly lost, although in the later, 
harder body it was not so noticeable. 

THe GuazE. From the first the Derby glaze was 
good. The early glaze was soft and velvet-like; the later 
glaze was harder and more brilliant but not obtrusively so. 

ArticLEs MApE AND Contour. In the early days of 
the factory, besides the making of tableware and all the 
other distinctly “‘useful” items of chinaware, small figures 
were produced in large quantities and the establishment 
seems to have done a particularly thriving business in that 
direction. Before the absorption of Chelsea, figures and 
groups in biscuit were made. With the acquisition of the 
Chelsea works and Chelsea traditions, the Derby estab- 
lishment continued to make all the diversity of wares 
produced under Sprimont. These have already been 
enumerated in the Chelsea section. 


250 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


In the matter of contour, however, as already pointed 
out, Duesbury made a-change and supplanted the exu- 
berant Rococo forms by the soberer contours dictated by 
the Neo-Classic mode (Plate 85, B). At a later date still, 
the Neo-Grec forms had their vogue in the Derby 
chinaware. 

Types oF Decoration. Under the Chelsea-Derby 
régime the Chelsea methods of decoration were continued 
so that, save for the evidence of marks, it would often be 
difficult to say whether a piece was Chelsea or Chelsea- 
Derby. Attention, however, has been called to the grow- 
ing tendency to load on too much decoration (Plate 85, A), 
and to a somewhat “‘tighter” and less spontaneous char- 
acter in the painting. It is unnecessary to recapitulate all 
the characteristic forms of Chelsea decoration, but it must 
be pointed out in addition to these that a very rich and 
ornate adaptation of the Japanese Imari patterns (Plate 
86, B) was characteristic of the Derby factory and that, 
in the late period, a great use was made of flowing gold 
scrolls (Plate 87) in conjunction with one or two rich 
colours to complete the scheme of arabesques. Under the 
second William Duesbury both the flower painting and the 
other painted decorations (Plates 87 and 86, A) reached 
the height of excellence. At this time, too, not only 
figures and statuettes in biscuit were produced, but like- 
wise very excellent portrait medallions in biscuit. 

Tue Marks. The earliest mark of Derby was a 
script D, but it is of the rarest occurrence. The usual mark 
is a D beneath a crown and this was used down to about 
1782. It was usually applied in underglaze blue, but is 
found also in purple, green, and rose. The Chelsea-Derby 
marks have already been given. Not long after 1782 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 251 


crossed batons and six dots accompanied the crowned D. 
This mark is generally in purple or mauve, though it may 
occur in blue or in gold. While Kean was a partner the 
letter K occasionally appears in company with the D. 
When Bloor bought the works the pieces were marked 
“Bloor, Derby,” with or without the crown. The Bloor 
marks were generally printed. A Gothic D crowned and 
printed in red belongs to the Bloor period, when the 
marks were commonly in red. Forged Dresden and Sévres 
marks in underglaze blue are not uncommon on Derby 


pieces. 
oy 2 


LONGTON HALL CHINA—1752-1758 


History. The china factory at Longton Hall in 
Staffordshire was a short-lived enterprise. It was estab- 
lished about 1752 by William Littler, the son of a Burslem 
potter, and came to an untimely end amidst financial dif- 
ficulties in 1758. Littler and Aaron Wedgwood, who had 
entered into partnership with him, launched their business 
with insufficient capital and always suffered from this 
handicap until the end came. Their aim was to make 
china like that of Bow and Chelsea, but to produce it at a 
lower cost and sell it cheaper. During the few years of its 
limited production, Longton Hall china had a moderate 
sale in the Midlands. An auction sale in London, in 1757, 
failed to realise the proceeds expected. The entire stock 
was sold by auction in London and Birmingham, in 1758, 
and the factory was abandoned. 


252 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Bopy. The Longton Hall body was a soft 
paste, granular in texture, full of specks and of a dingy, 
greyish white tinge. It has been called “the worst china 
ever produced in England.” 

THe Giaze. The glaze was harder than the glaze of 
Bow and Chelsea; it was also thinner in its distribution 
and less likely to crackle and craze. 

Artictes MapE anp Contour. ‘Tableware formed 
the principal output of the Longton Hall factory. Elabo- 
rate vases were never undertaken, but there were a few 
beakers, small vases and pomatum pots made. The 
figures mentioned in the sales advertisements were merely 
the table accompaniments of fruit baskets and similar 
dessert pieces. The shapes coincided with the Rococo 
phases (Plate 110, B), interpreted at Bow and Chelsea. 

Types oF Decoration. Flowers, birds, and country 
or pastoral scenes with a few figures were motifs much 
employed. A bright underglaze cobalt blue was frequently 
used, either as a ground colour or in heavy masses. Re- 
served panels for bird or flower motifs were commonly 
enclosed with scrolled borders in raised white. In modelled 
ornament, acanthus leaves were especially favoured. 
There was little gilding. 

THe Marks. Longton Hall china was seldom 
marked and may easily be mistaken for inferior Bow or 
Chelsea ware. When marked, it had two L’s crossed, ora 
device evolved from two L’s. 

ais ~* 


Paste 


white, 


PLATE 89 © 


i 
é 
: 
i 


PLYMOUTH MUG WITH SWELLING BASE 


glaze slightly greyish or smoked; decorated with Chinese motifs in brilliant 
colours, green, vermilion, dull blue, bright yellow and mulberry 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 90 


uOojZUISUIy YINOG ‘uInasny Jeq[y puUe eIIOJIA 944 Jo AsozyINnoD 


useis Aai3 
pue Aijoqinw ‘pol urnjeuad ‘HOR[G Ul UOTyeIODep IMOJOO ‘a4sed ul 
quoWIeUIO pepinow tAyOWs IO Adis YSIN[q A]}YSITS 9ze][s ‘oJIYM 94seq ~ 


adVHS OOOO0O0U HO LVOPHONVS HLNOWATd “2 


MO]jOA pure ‘UseIB ‘an[q ‘UOT[IUIIBA ‘Ja[OIA ‘p[os UI UOTZe1OODap Aeids 
_ pue yenbnoq Jamoy tAHOWsS IO Avis YSIn[q AjYSIs azes ‘aqsed ayy 


aSvVd ONITIGMS HLIM DAW HLNOWATd. *V 


PLATE 91 


BRISTOL CHOCOLATE POT WITH DOMED LID 


Hard white paste, clear, colourless glaze; bright marbleised or stippled cobalt ground, rather 
harsh; elaborate scroll and band gilding of excellent quality; reserved white panels with 
polychrome flowers in green, mulberry, yellow, purple and deep Venetian red 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 92 


U0BUISUsY YINOS ‘uINasny_ Woq[y Pur BIIOJOIA 94} Jo AsazyInodD 


plos pue Assaqinur oyed ‘anjq [[Np ‘uorMIaA 
‘MOT[AA ‘UdBIZ UT UOTJVIODAp ‘aZe[S ssapInojOo ‘Iee[o ‘aysed Areal 


NWOALAV dO AANDIA TOLSINA “F 


plo3 puke pos ueryoua A ‘yo[OIA AOuIS ‘U9aI3 ploo daap ‘moyad ‘yurd ayed 
UI IQUURW UIPSdIq] Ul UOI}eIOOVp palaMOy taze[s Ieajo ‘aysed AureatD 


LOd €ALVIOOOHO GCddVHS-aVdd IOLSING “V 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 253 


LIVERPOOL CHINA—1800-1841 


History. Although Liverpool was at one time an 
important centre of the ceramic industry, the quantity 
and quality of porcelain made there during the eighteenth 
century seems very problematical, despite the contention 
that four potters were engaged in making china, to wit, 
Richard Chaffers, Seth Pennington, Philip Christian and 
Reid & Company. It seems scarcely likely that there 
would be so few traces remaining had real china ever 
been manufactured at Liverpool in the eighteenth century 
in any appreciable quantity. “Dillon suggests that some 
eighteenth century soft paste porcelain that may have 
been made at Liverpool has been classified as Worcester 
or Salopian. 

Further difficulties arise when one considers the 
readiness displayed by eighteenth century manufacturers 
to label as porcelain articles whose composition is nearly 
identical with that of pottery. Much of the Delft ware 
made at Liverpool went by the name of porcelain, where- 
as its only actual resemblance to porcelain was its white 
colour. 

Nevertheless, there are in the Liverpool Museum 
specimens, purporting to be of Liverpool manufacture, 
that shew a good quality of paste and glaze as well as 
creditable decoration. There are examples of transfer 
printing, chiefly in black and brown, but also in green, 
deep purple, rose and red. Likewise there are Chinese 
designs, landscapes, rustic scenes, butterflies, red grounds, 
and also patterns in underglaze blue. Instances of bat- 
printing, too, occur. 


254 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Perhaps the most interesting figure connected with 
the Liverpool ventures at china making was Richard 
Chaffers. Through the advice of Podmore, of the Wor- 
cester factory, Chaffers made an expedition into Cornwall 
in search of soapstone. The search was ultimately success- 
ful and Chaffers returned to Liverpool assured that he 
would be able to obtain all the soapstone necessary. The 
ware subsequently manufactured and sold by Chaffers & 
Co., as advertised in the Liverpool Advertiser in December, 
1756, undoubtedly contained soapstone, but it seems not 
to have been a true porcelain. 

At a more recent date (1800-1841) the Herculaneum 
works on the banks of the Mersey manufactured genuine 
porcelain. There is no difficulty in identifying its wares 
as they are plainly marked with the full name of the 
place, occasionally accompanied by the crest of the Liver- 
pool Borough. There was no improvement in quality or 
decoration (Plate 110, A), to distinguish the Herculaneum 
china from the products of other factories and while the 
decorations were pleasing, they were obviously adapted 
from types then in vogue at Davenport and elsewhere. 


LOWESTOFT CHINA—c.1756-c.1802 


History. Probably no one kind of china has ever 
stirred up so much contention or so much hot partisanship 
—or opposition, as the case may be—as the china that was 
made and the china that was not made at Lowestoft. 
Half the time, a violent Lowestoft partisan will ignore 
facts and claim an unlimited and elaborate production for a 
very small establishment; the violent opponent grudg- 
ingly admits that Aas at all was made there. Bow of 
them find the truth unpalatable. 


PLATE 94 


A. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY CHINESE B. CAUGHLEY MUG 
POWDER-BLUE VASE With scrolls and bands of characteristic deep blue 
Reserved and shaped panel in white bearing multi- and gold 


1 t : : 
es Pals ot emblems Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 


Courtesy of the British Museum South Kensington 


i ae } 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 266 


As a matter of fact, most of the china that goes by the 
name of Lowestoft and that a great many people persist 
in calling Lowestoft, was never anywhere within miles of 
the place, On the other hand, there unquestionably was a 
porcelain factory at Lowestoft, and some very engaging 
chinaware was made there. All these facts are known and 
attested. But fallacies die hard, and it will probably be a 
long time before the admirers of chinaware will unite in 
giving the factory and its wares their just due without 
either addition or subtraction. 

The factory was established by Messrs. Walker, 
Brown, Aldred and Richman and a considerable output of 
soft paste porcelain was produced so that it was worth 
while to have a warehouse in London. An advertisement 
in a London paper of 1770 acquaints the public that 
“Clark Durnford, Lowestoft China Warehouse, No. 4, 
Great St. Thomas the Apostle, Cheapside, London” will 
supply merchants, shopkeepers and others with the china 
made in Suffolk. There seems also to have been a fairly 
brisk local trade. 

The factory was closed about 1802 or 1803 after 
having continued in operation for nearly half a century. 

Tue Bopy. The body was a soft paste with a 
yellowish tinge and is not very translucent. 

Tue Gtaze. The glaze was often slightly tinged with 
cobalt and was sometimes imperfectly fired so that it is a 
little dulled. There are often minute black points or 
specks in the glaze also. The Lowestoft glaze is strongly 
characteristic, not only because of this perceptibly bluish 
tinge that occurs on all pieces decorated in underglaze blue 
even when other colours in enamel are used with it, but 
also owing to its frequently thick and uneven distribution 


256 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


which is especially noticeable on the larger pieces. On 
pieces decorated only in enamel colours over the glaze, 
the glaze is apt to be more thinly applied and to shew a 
greenish tinge. The quality of the glaze on Lowestoft 
china with polychrome decoration contributes to the 
pearly appearance similar to that of Oriental china with 
decoration of the same sort. 

ArTIcLES MaApE AND Contour. The articles made 
at Lowestoft were largely tea-services, punch bowls, cups 
and saucers, mugs, dishes, small plates, jugs, inkstands, 
basons, sauce boats, open-work fruit baskets and smaller 
ware generally. No large services or ambitious articles of a 
decorative nature seem to have been attempted. 

The shapes were either copied from Chinese models or 
adapted from the wares of other factories such, for in- 
stance, as the cabbage-leaf jug of Worcester pattern. 

Types oF Decoration. At the beginning there 
seems to have been some imitation of Delft floral and 
scroll motifs in underglaze blue, but most of the early 
Lowestoft followed Chinese patterns. For a number of 
years all the decoration was in underglaze blue (Plate 
96, A and B), and it was not until about 1785 or 1790 that 
decoration in enamel colours began. In addition to the 
underglaze blue decorations there were moulded low re- 
liefs in the form of ribbing, fluting, basket-work, scrolls 
(Plate 96, A), rosettes (Plate 96, B), and flowers. Pierc- 
ing and fretwork also played an important part in the 
ornamentation. | 

In the polychrome decoration the favourite motifs 
were either Chinese subjects or else small flowers (Plates 
51, A and gs, B) in sprays or singly, and the colouring, 
though bright, was delicate (Plate 95, A). Constant use 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 257 


was also made of fretwork (Plate 96, C), scale or diapered 
borders or borders derived from the Chinese cord and 
tassel motif. Rose-colour was evidently much favoured 
by the Lowestoft china painters (Plate 95, A). 

Both Bow and Worcester workmen and decorators 
seem to have been employed at various times and this 
would account for some of the similarities in decoration 
to be found. So far as the blue and white ware is 
concerned, however, it should be borne in mind that 
Lowestoft has not the greenish tinge of Bow and Wor- 
cester when held against the light, nor has it the thin 
glaze with a greenish tinge displayed by the Caughley 
blue and white, but its glaze is thick and of distinctly 
bluish tinge. 

In the blue and white ware also occasionally appear 
little local views, and in some instances these are set in 
panels and surrounded by a ground of powder blue which 
latter the Lowestoft makers seem to have been especially 
successful in copying from the Chinese. Straight and 
curved ribbings and flutings were often employed and on 
the pieces with narrow ribbing there was frequently a 
blue decoration of lines with minute sprays and flowers 
resembling the modern Copenhagen china, although the 
Lowestoft blue is deeper. The Chinese dragon in blue 
was obviously appropriated from the Worcester pattern. 
There was also apparently some attempt at transfer 
printing in blue, in emulation of the Caughley willow 
pattern. A few black transfers, too, are said to have 
been made. 

Designs prompted by the willow pattern or adapted 
from other Oriental motifs were executed in underglaze 
blue along with on-glaze red and gold, but the poly- 

17 


258 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


chrome decorations were chiefly designs derived from the 
Chinese porcelain of the famille rose, or else the minute 
flower sprays and single blossoms usually associated with 
the name of Lowestoft, although decorations almost 
identical with the latter were also employed at New Hall, 
Wirksworth and elsewhere. The blue cornflower motif 
often appeared, there were occasionally pink or puce 
monochromes, there were “‘Mandarin” figures, doubtless 
inspired by Worcester, now and then cornucopias filled 
with flowers, while a very few instances of decorations 
with Classic figures have been attributed to Lowestoft, 
as well as a few instances of large flowers naturalistically 
painted. Armorial devices are known to have been ex- 
ecuted but, so it seems, not often. 

Tue Marks. There seems to have been no regular 
factory mark on the Lowestoft china and many pieces are 
altogether innocent of anything resembling a mark. Marks 
of other factories it appears, however, were now and 
again copied or approximated. 


PLYMOUTH CHINA—1768-1770 


History. The hard paste porcelain factory was 
established by William Cookworthy at Plymouth in 1768. 
Cookworthy was a plymouth chemist who for years had 
been deeply interested in the subject of porcelain manu- 
facture. He was persuaded that the materials requisite 
for making true hard paste porcelain, similar in the 
nature of its body to the porcelain of China or the hard 
paste porcelain of Dresden, could be found in England. 
He furthermore believed that those materials existed in 
abundant quantity in Cornwall. For a number of years he 
experimented with Cornish kaolin and felspar, or china 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 259 


clay and china stone, as they are usually called, and after 
discovering the most satisfactory sorts and the proper 
proportions for the composition, he established the Ply- 
mouth china factory with the aid and backing of Thomas 
Pitt of Boconnoc (afterwards Lord Camelford), having 
first secured a patent granting him exclusive right to the 
use of his composition for a term of years. 

Cookworthy was sixty-three years old when he ob- 
tained his patent and founded the factory and he utterly 
lacked all experience in directing the mechanical processes 
and the details of management. The obstacles to be over- 
come were too great to admit of even moderate success for 
the venture and, in 1770, the Plymouth factory was aban- 
doned and the business transferred to Bristol where Richard 
Champion, a young, capable and energetic man developed 
the enterprise into the famous Bristol china works. 

Tue Bopy. The body of the Plymouth china was a 
true hard paste, the first that had been made in England. 
It was extremely hard, and was pure white and translucent, 
possessing all the qualities that good hard paste porcelain 
should have. 

Tue Graze. The glaze of the Plymouth china was 
often very imperfect, a circumstance due to imperfect 
firing. It was frequently thick and uneven in patches and 
apt to be full of bubbles. In many cases it had a distinctly 
greyish tone from the smoke. This smoke stain was tech- 
nically an imperfection, of course, but as a matter of fact 
it not seldom added to the charm of the china. 

ArticLtes MaprE anp Contour. Much of the prod- 
uct consisted of the smaller sorts of tableware and tea 
services, although a number of excellent figures and groups 
and some admirable vases were also made. The shapes were 


260 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


more or less of a moderate Rococo fashion although a num- 
ber of Chinese forms (Plates 88 and 89), also were employed. 

Types oF Decoration. Modelling or moulding in 
low relief in the form of scrolls and leaf motifs (Plate go, 
B) formed part of the decorative system; also the model- 
ling of shell-shaped salt-cellars, figures and other items in 
fuller relief or in the round contributed its share. A 
number of pieces appear in the white. Many pieces were 
decorated altogether in underglaze blue, but the blue 
was rather blackish where it had been thickly applied and 
was also apt to be streaky. The polychrome pieces shew 
brilliant and beautiful colouring (Plates 88, 89 and go, A), 
and the enamel-painted decoration is always in the form of 
sprays of flowers and detached birds and butterflies 
(Plates 88 and 90, A). Ground colours were not used until 
after the business had been transferred to Bristol. , 

Tue Marks. When the pieces are marked they 
bear the alchemical symbol for tin which looks like a com- 
bination of the two Arabic numerals, 2 and 4. On the blue 
and white pieces the mark is in underglaze blue; on the 
polychrome pieces it is in red or reddish brown. On a few 
of the pieces where there is much gilding, the mark isin 
gold but it is not unlikely that some of these pieces may 
have been made at the Bristol factory. 


Q 


BRISTOL CHINA—1770-1781 


History. In 1770, when Cookworthy joined forces 
with Richard Champion and transferred the Plymouth 
factory to Bristol, the business was established in a build- 
ing on Castle Green. From 1770 to 1773 this business was 


PLATE 93 


uo UISUSY YINoG ‘unesny Joqry pue eIIOJOIA 9Y} Jo Aso4Ino| 


p[os pue UOTIUIIOA ‘MoT[aA 
Ystuseis ‘useis ‘yuld ‘yajora ‘anj[q ul uorye100ep Aeids JaMOy ‘Iopi0q pios puv mojjed ‘uoriuriaa ‘ajdind 03 3urpeys aniq ‘uMmoiq ‘asor 
aysed ou14M plepyy ‘useid Ul UOTJVIOOIp faze[s Ul 98UT} YSIN[q yurIey ‘oqysed ozIYM PIE 


WIla Gad TNnNow 
GNV GddVHS HLIM ALV1d IOLSINA °V 


UoqqIs an[q peoejsezul toze[s ur a8ury YsIniq jure; 
WIlad Gada Tnow 


GQNV GudVHS HLIM ALVId IOLSIYd ‘FZ 


PLATE 95 


uoj,UISUaY YYNOS ‘uInNasNP eqTy pUe eIIOJOIA 9Y} JO ASeyINOd 


Jopio0g UWseI3 ‘UOT[IWIaA JO sayono, puv Useis YSIN[q 


‘ALIaq{Nu ‘anjq Ur UOI}ZeLOOep + YsIN{q A[JUTe} 9Z2e]B ‘aqysed 031M 4JOS 


NOILVYOOdd AAMOTA 
-NUOO HLIM DAW .LAOLSAMOT WOU ATAIAL.. 


“ 


use13 PUP UOTIWIIOA ‘an{q [[Np ‘moTjed ‘ArIOg 
-[NUI Ul SIOMOY ‘ULI BpIsUI Jop1og pel :eze{s IveTo ‘aysed azIYM 4jog 


IMOd TIVNS LAOLSAMOT °V 


PLATE 96 


AZ LOWIESLOR Dd bu LER: BOAT B. LOWESTOFT CREAM PITCHER 
Soft white paste, distinctly bluish glaze; Soft white paste, bluish glaze; moulded or- 
moulded ornament impressed in paste; dec- nament impressed in paste; decoration in 

oration in deep dull blue deep dull blue 


C. LOWESTOFT PIERCED FRUIT BASKET 


Soft white paste, very bluish glaze; moulded ornament; decoration deep blue 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 97 


u0zUISUay YINOG ‘uNssny JAeq[ YW PUL eIL0JOIA ayy JO ASa4inod 


aniq deep Alaa 
pue pjos Ul UOIZeIOOSp OI}sllayoeIeYyO ‘aze[s Iea[o ‘aysed Auievaid 


SHTGNVH OMI HLIM dNOD GaHaAHAOD AUTHONVO “JZ 


anjiq daap AoA pue pos Ul UOTZeIODep ‘feze[s 1va[o ‘aqsed AueaI5y 
Umgonvs AMTHONVO °V 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 261 


carried on under the firm name of Wm. Cookworthy & Co. 
In 1773 Champion bought Cookworthy’s interest and 
patent rights and the firm then became Richard Champion 
& Company. 

Champion was a merchant in the American trade and 
also an ardent supporter of Burke, and when the troubles 
incident to the American Revolution arose he sustained 
serious losses. In 1775, with Burke’s support, he tried to 
obtain an extension of Cookworthy’s patent, but the most 
he could secure was the sole right to use the china stone 
and china clay in making porcelain; others might employ 
the same materials so long as they did not manufacture 
porcelain within the time limit of the patent. Even though 
aided by Burke and other powerful friends in Parliament, 
litigation cost Champion dear for Josiah Wedgwood and 
the Staffordshire potters created a strong opposition to the 
renewal of the patent in any form. These charges and the 
losses occasioned by the war with the Colonies crippled 
Champion financially and he sought to extend the capital 
of the business but the times were not favourable. 

A London warehouse, at 17 Salisbury Court, Fleet 
Street, was opened in 1776 and the best period of the enter- 
prise seems to have been from 1776 to 1778, but at the end 
of that time Champion entertained the thought of selling 
the factory and his patent rights. A sale was effected in 
1781 to a company of seven Staffordshire potters and 
Champion retired from the field of manufacture, going not 
long after to South Carolina where he died in 1791. The 
Bristol works were closed and the new company trans- 
ferred the scene of their activity first to Tunstall and then 
to New Hall, at Shelton. 


262 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Bopy. The paste was white, intensely hard, 
dense of texture, and translucent. In hardness and infusi- 
bility the Bristol body excels both Chinese and Dresden 
porcelain. Bristol china sometimes shews “‘wreathing,” 
slight spiral ridges running round the piece from bottom 
to top, caused by imperfect manipulation in “‘throwing”’ 
and moulding the clay on the potter’s wheel. When 
fractured or chipped the surface is more or less conchoidal 
with a waxy lustre. 

Tue GiazeE. The imperfections of the Plymouth 
glaze have already been noted. At Bristol the difficulties 
were overcome and an evenly distributed, clear, brilliant 
glaze was perfected. The simpler ware was glazed and 
fired at one operation, in the Chinese manner; the more 
elaborate pieces were first fired to a partial biscuit state, 
then dipped in the glaze and fully fired. 

ARTICLES MapE Aanp Contour. There were two 
grades of ware made at the Bristol factory—the “Cottage 
China”’ and the finer and more elaborate pieces. The cot- 
tage china included the ordinary “useful” tableware and a 
few small figures that were not carefully modelled. The 
shapes and decoration of the cottage china were simple. 
The finer tableware and the vases, jars and beakers were 
admittedly inspired by the Dresden manner. Figures 
(Plate 92, B), and groups, excellently modelled, were made 
both glazed and in biscuit, and there were also in biscuit 
portrait medallions and plaques with armorial bearings, 
often surrounded by the most delicately fashioned wreaths 
of flowers. The fine tableware and tea and coffee equipages 
never displayed the exaggerated Rococo shapes of Dresden 
but rather tended to conservative Chinese shapes and the 
more sober forms of Neo-Classic derivation. The cata- 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 263 


logue of the 1780 sale of Bristol china notes “elegant 
patterns in Desert Services, Tea and Coffee Equipages, 
Cabinet and Caudle cups,” and the contours of many of 
these articles distinctly bear the Neo-Classic impress. 

Types oF Decoration. The cottage china was 
simply decorated, generally with multi-coloured sprigs and 
sprays of flowers or with festooned ribbon borders. Very 
little of it was decorated with underglaze blue. Gilding 
was not used, and the glaze was applied before firing, in 
the usual Chinese manner. In the general output and 
finer sorts of Bristol china, ribbing, fluting, the embossed 
pine-cone or scale pattern, scrolls and other moulded 
low reliefs were employed]and some of the vases display 
considerable ornament modelled in high relief and applied. 
A brilliant on-glaze blue ground (Plate 91) was used 
with reserved panels for multi-coloured flowers and birds, 
but the on-glaze blue usually has a mottled, smeary 
appearance. Yellow and various other ground colours 
were more successful. Festoons and wreaths of green 
leaves afforded a characteristic motif and these wreaths 
sometimes enclosed medallions with a chocolate ground 
on which appeared Classic figures in grisazlle. ‘The Bristol 
gilding was rich (Plate 91), and often beautifully effective. 
The finer glazed figures were well decorated in enamel 
colours. The most successful and satisfying of the Bristol 
decorations were generally the multi-coloured flowers 
(Plates 76, A; 92, A and 93, A and B), grouped in 
compositions, scattered, or disposed in garlands and 
festoons with or without ribbons. Champion was pecul- 
iarly successful with the green that appears in laurel 
leaves and festoons. 


264 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 
Tue Marks. While the factory belonged to Cook- 


worthy & Co. the mark seems to have been the alchemist 
symbol for tin, the same as the Plymouth mark, painted 
in gold. The regular Bristol mark after Cookworthy’s 
withdrawal, was a cross, incised in the paste, painted in 
blue underglaze or, more usually on-glaze, or in gold. The 
mark *‘B” was also used. When numerals occur they are 
the decorator’s mark. The Dresden mark in underglaze 
blue was sometimes employed. 


B., Ky TO X 


NEW HALL CHINA—1781-1825 


History. When Richard Champion brought the 
Bristol china works to an end, he transferred his patent 
rights to a group of experienced potters who, in 1781, 
established a factory at Tunstall. Upon the withdrawal 
of two of their number, after some disagreement, in 1782 
they removed the establishment to New Hall, at Shelton. 

The members of the New Hall company seem unfor- 
tunately to have lacked the foresight to acquire either 
the experienced workmen or the invaluable collection of 
moulds of the Bristol company. Furthermore, although 
the New Hall organisation had been virtually established 
by Champion, the directors were unwilling to follow that 
worthy pioneer’s example. Their ends were first and 
foremost commercial and they had little interest in main- 
taining the high standards and ideals of Bristol. At 
first they continued to make hard paste porcelain but 
soon made a change to a softer body and, eventually, 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 265 


adopted the bone standard. Content as the New Hall 
manufacturers were with a product, for the most part, 
inferior in the quality of its paste, mediocre in its orna- 
mentation, and notable principally for its cheapness, it 
is not to be wondered at that New Hall china, coloured 
as it often was in gaudy enamels, with patterns of no 
particular distinction, failed to make either a wide or 
enduring appeal. The term of the patent ran out in 1796, 
and although an half-hearted attempt was made to im- 
prove the ware by the adoption of new methods in 1812, 
the end was stayed for only a short time and the factory 
was permanently closed down in 1825. 

The earlier paste was milk white with a glittering 
glaze; the later paste was white or slightly greyish- 
white and had a thin glassy glaze with a somewhat 
greenish tinge. 

The Bristol “cottage china” in all likelihood inspired 
a good deal of the New Hall product. The decorations 
were simple, sometimes crudely executed, and without 
gilding. Not a little of the unmarked china made at 
New Hall seems to have been attributed to Lowestoft, 
especially the sort embellished with sprays, sprigs or 
wreaths of small flowers and minute roses, joined together 
with little ribbons or lines of dots. In the better pieces 
produced, where the small flower wreaths or baskets of 
flowers were reasonably well executed (Plate 103, A and 
B), the confusion with Lowestoft can be readily under- 
stood. The basket device appearing on the teapot is 
rather characteristic of New Hall. Moulded ornament 
was occasionally used and landscape subjects were now 
and again employed. Classic figures, too, may be found 
but are rare. The colours are often thick and heavy; 


266 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


again they are noticeably thin. In not a few instances 
the outlines of the design were transfer printed and the 
colours were afterwards applied with a brush. For the 
china decorated with small flowers, in what is usually 
considered the “‘Lowestoft”? manner, diaper patterns in 
deep pink or puce were often employed for borders. 
There were likewise adaptations of various sorts from the 
Chinese famille rose porcelain, and Japanese “Imari” 
patterns, too, were produced, the details of the design 
being commonly larger than those of the Derby “Imari.” 

When the New Hall china was marked, the earliest 
mark was the letter N incised in the paste; the later mark 
was the name New Hall in italics in a double circle, 
transfer printed on the glaze. 


PINXTON AND TORKSEY CHINA—PINXTON, 1796-1818; 
TORKSEY, 1803-1808 

History. John Coke, brother of the Lord of the 
Manor of Pinxton in east Derbyshire, had developed a 
keen interest in the manufacture of porcelain as it was 
then conducted, and consequently when he discovered a 
fine white earth on the estate at Pinxton he was convinced 
that it could be used to advantage in making porcelain. 

The first reports of trial specimens were unsatis- 
factory, but Coke, still determined, resolved to try his own 
hand. He secured the services of William Billingsley, a 
painter from Derby, built a factory at Pinxton in 1796 
and set about establishing what he believed would be a 
prosperous business. 

At first, all went well. The ware produced, while 
inferior in painting to the chief products of the day, was a 
fairly good commercial ware. It was mostly decorated 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 267 


with flowers rendered in a more or less realistic manner as 
this was the type of ornament for which Billingsley was 
famous. 'To some extent, however, ground colours were 
used (Plate 104, B), with reserved panels and in these 
panels appeared either small landscapes or flower subjects. 

As time went on, Billingsley paid less and less atten- 
tion to the works. He took no active part in the painting 
and scarcely fulfilled John Coke’s idea of an efficient 
manager. Such a state of affairs could not continue very 
long and finally they parted—Billingsley to wander 
about the country, engage in an abortive attempt to make 
china at Mansfield, and then be heard of later at Torksey; 
John Coke to recover his declining trade as best he could. 

The factory was continued under the management of 
a Mr. Banks and, later, under a Mr. Cutts, but it never 
achieved any degree of success and the entire establish- 
ment was abandoned in 1818. 

The Pinxton ware is sometimes marked with a 
cursive P in red. Occasionally the marks that appear 
at the end of the section are also found on china made 
at Pinxton. 

After his failure at Mansfield, Billingsley retired to 
Torksey in Lincolnshire and, in 1803, established a porce- 
lain factory with the help of his daughters who assisted 
him with the painting. The products of this venture met 
with even less success than those of Pinxton and the entire 
business was an utter failure. The year 1808 saw Billings- 
ley fleeing from his creditors, never to be heard of again as 
an independent porcelain manufacturer. His 'Torksey 
wares are almost impossible to identify as they bear no 


mark. € % Wer 


268 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


CHURCH GRESLEY CHINA—1795-1808 


History. Church Gresley must appear amongst the 
names of porcelain factories, in spite of the fact that no 
authentic piece of china emanating thence is known to exist. 

This factory, started by Sir Nigel Gresley, seems to 
have had a tragic, and certainly had a brief, career. Sir 
Nigel, once Lord of the Manor of Burslem, fell upon evil 
days and had to retire to the family seat, Church Gresley, 
near Burton-on-Trent in Derbyshire. 

Here, in 1795, he sought to recover his fortunes by the 
manufacture of porcelain, and although he superintended 
the work himself, employed his daughter as a decorator, 
and obtained the professional aid of W. T. Coffee, the 
Derby modeller, the venture was far from successful. 

In 1800, Mr. Nadin, a local colliery proprietor, as- 
sumed the responsibilities of the concern, and even though 
he succeeded in obtaining from Queen Charlotte an order 
for a dinner service at £700, he was unable to execute 
the more important pieces such as the plates, platters, 
dishes and tureens which were all spoiled in the firing. 

A third and final proprietor, Mr. Burton, of Linton in 
Derbyshire, met with no better success in the conduct of the 
works, and the year 1808 saw the factory definitely closed. 


CAUGHLEY CHINA—c.1772~-1799; 1799-C¢.1815 


History. Thomas Turner, a man of some indepen- 
dent means and social standing, sometime an engraver 
at Worcester, went to Caughley in Shropshire about 1772 
and there began the making of porcelain at a pottery that 
had been established near twenty years earlier but had 
hitherto made only earthenware. 3 


PLATE 98 


U0AUISUIY YANog ‘unasny, JASsq[Y PU BIIOJIA 94} Jo AsoyINOD 


J[BGoo pue UOT[IUIIAA ‘MOTIAA YY BIIQ pure yYSIT 


6 


usveis ated ul UOT4eI 


-Odap VsseUTYD ‘ssuljny pepynow ‘ezeis ysiniq Aj 


qurey ‘aysed Aureaisa 


NOSVd AUVOAS ATIHONVO GALLON IValds “IVAO ‘g¢ 


plos pue yinostq ‘antq deap ‘moTjaé 
JO sapeys Ul UOlZeIOOap ssauIyDd [eo1dAy 


‘6 


6 


yuid ‘usei3 Jue IAG 


aze[s Iva] 


NOSVd AVONS ONOTEHO AdOdS ~ 


‘aqsed Aulvaigd 
Vv 


PLATE 99 


qejorA deap pue useis ‘UOT 


UoIBUISUdy YNog ‘unesny WoqTy pue eIOJOIA 94} JO ASozINOD 


[fUIIOA ‘ymMostq ‘aSOL UI UOTIVIOIEP JO 


4se1 ‘Iopi0og posederp peinojoo-asoi :ystnyq A]}YSIIs azeis ‘aysed aU M 
ALV1Id VNIHO-"ANOLS adOdS ‘d 


u9013 pue MOTJeA ‘4TeqQOO ‘uOTTIUIIEA ‘yUId Ul SlOMOY ‘BUIp[Is You Y yt 
punois onjq AoiZ 4Y BI] :eBur} Ystuseis ATjUTe} JO ozes ‘aysed Aurvel) 


HSIG YALLAG GANAAOO AdOdS “V 


PLATE 100 


UOJSUISUIY YJNOS ‘uInssnypy JIOQ[Y PUP BIIOJOIA BY} JO ASoyInoD 


so[puey pue WII pops ‘Aei3 Wem UI UOTZeIONap poajyulid Jojsuesy toze[s Iea[9 
Wid GadVHS HLIM HSIC TVAO AdOds 


‘aqsed Aureala 


PLATE 101 


pue y3joIA dsap 


UOPW;UISUIY YINOS ‘uNasnyp yleq[Y puv BILOJIA 94} Jo Asayino|D 


uae13 1431] 
‘asuevio juin ‘an[q ‘yUId Ul sIaMOY ‘BUIP[IS Yor *aqIYyM Ul sjaued poAtoSsoI YJIM PUNOII 4[eqQOd }YsIIq ‘aze[s Iea[o ‘aysed Au i>) 
AVUL CNV HSIC WALLOG GHAAAOD AdOdS ‘d pure vy 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 269 


For a number of years after Turner started the porce- 
lain factory at Caughley, blue and white ware with 
printed transfer decorations was the chief article of manu- 
facture and probably no establishment ever did more to 
popularise blue-printed china. Two characteristic pat- 
terns emanated from Caughley that have enjoyed vast 
popularity and are known the world over—the ‘willow 
pattern,”’ and the “Broseley dragon.’’? A London ware- 
house called the “‘Salopian China Warehouse”’ for the sale 
of Caughley chinaware was established in 1780 at number 
5 Portugal Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields. 

Thomas Turner retired from business in 1799 and sold 
the works to John Rose who continued to operate them in 
connexion with the Coalport factory nearby until 1814 or 
1815 when they were closed and dismantled. 

Tue Bopy. The Caughley paste was a good body 
both whiter and more translucent than the paste of the 
Worcester china. 

Tue GuazE. The glaze was clear, perfectly trans- 
parent and of perfectly smooth and even distribution. 

ArtTIcLES MapE AND Contour. ‘Tableware, tea and 
coffee services and all the ‘‘useful”’ items of chinaware 
were the chief products. Vases were made and a certain 
number of decorative items, but none of a large and elab- 
orate character. The contours most favoured were either 
based on Chinese models or else followed the Neo-Classic 
impulse dominant at the period. 

Tyres oF Decoration. Until after 1780 the decora- 
tions consisted almost altogether of blue-printed transfer 
patterns, chiefly in Chinese designs, “but produced in a 
manner that no Chinaman ever dreamt of.’ Neverthe- 
less, they were very good and the patterns were sharply 


270 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


engraved and cleanly executed. The blue was clear and 
strong and as the body was whiter than the Worcester 
body and the glaze perfectly transparent, the Caughley 
blue and white china never had the same mellowness of the 
Worcester blue and white which closely approximated the 
Chinese porcelain in quality. ‘The Caughley blue and 
white china was sometimes painted in underglaze blue, 
as well as transfer printed, although transfer printing was 
usual for the willow pattern. In both cases the later 
Caughley blue and white was often enriched with bands 
of gilding and appeared not unlike much of the blue and 
white Chinese porcelain of the period that was made for 
export. The willow pattern appeared about 1780 and 
whole dinner services were made with this design which 
immediately achieved wide popularity. Dinner services 
were also painted in underglaze blue with “Chantilly 
sprigs’ after the manner of some of the old Chantilly china. 

Turner went to France in 1780 and is said to have 
brought back several French china decorators. After 
that date there was greater variety in decoration. Small 
multi-coloured flowers (Plate 94, B) were much used, 
either scattered or composed in bouquets, festoons or 
wreaths. One type of decoration that was very character- 
istic of Caughley consisted altogether of blue and gold 
(Plate 97, A and B). The blue appears in bands or in 
flower shapes and all the delicate sprays, fine tracery and 
other minute details are done in gold. Besides a great 
variety of flower subjects, landscapes were employed and 
also birds with bright plumage. The later flower painting 
in colours quite holds its own with the work of Worcester. 

Tue Marks. The earliest Caughley mark was a C, 
commonly printed in blue, and closely resembling the 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 271 


Worcester crescent. S, painted or printed in blue, was also 
an early Caughley mark. Later, the word “SALOPIAN” 
was impressed in the paste and sometimes the painted S or 
C marks were used along with it. 


SCs ETA 


COALPORT CHINA—(1780) 1790 To PRESENT DAY 


History. In 1780, John Rose, who had been trained 
at Caughley, established a small porcelain factory at 
Jackfield nearby. In 1790 he moved his establishment to 
Coalport, a mile farther down the Severn, and in 1799 
bought the Caughley factory. The business from the first 
prospered exceedingly and, after Rose’s death in 1841, was 
continued by his nephew. After 1875 the establishment 
was acquired by a company and the business was carried 
on upon the old site by the Coalport China Company. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body was white and highly translu- 
cent and in every way very similar to the Caughley paste. 

Tue Graze. The Coalport glaze was of especially 
excellent quality. It had a felspathic basis, like the glaze of 
hard paste porcelain, but fused at a much lower tempera- 
ture owing to the use of silicate of soda and potash and a 
large percentage of borax. When the enamel colours were 
fired on this glaze they readily fused with it and sank into 
it so that the mellow effect produced was similar to that of 
the softer lead glazes on the old soft paste porcelain. 

ArtictEs MaprE AnD Contour. ‘The chief product 
of the Coalport factory was tableware along with the 
usual decorative accessories of an average type, although 


t 


272 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


to some extent the more ambitious creations of Sévres, 
Dresden and Chelsea were copied in the form of vases and 
other cabinet pieces. 

In contour the Coalport productions in large measure 
followed the Caughley patterns, but also made direct 
imitations of the pieces produced at Sévres and Dresden. 
Neo-Classic and, later, Neo-Grec impulses were plainly 
reflected in many of the shapes used. 

Types oF Decoration. Besides continuing the 
Caughley manner of decorating, and emulating the man- 
ners of Sévres and Dresden, painters from Worcester, 
Derby and the Staffordshire potteries were employed and 
these men brought with them all the current styles of 
those places. The deep Mazarine blue ground colour, so 
famous at Derby, was reproduced at Coalport and many 
other ground colours were also used, especially pink, 
apple green, claret, a bright canary yellow, and grey, 
while a fine rose Pompadour was particularly esteemed. 
In the reserved panels with the ground colours, and also 
on china without ground colours, the widest variety of 
decorations were employed (Plate 107, A), including all 
manner of floral subjects (Plate 108, A), garlands, fes- 
toons, wreaths, landscapes, figures, gaily feathered birds 
(Plates 108, B and 109, A), and heraldic devices. Of 
common occurrence were basket borders with small 
flowers, birds and insects, in the Dresden manner; 
‘‘Swansea roses’’; the Brosely dragon in green as well as 
in blue; the “Bourbon sprig” or cornflower; blue under- 
glaze flowers and sprigs in the old Chantilly fashion; the 
“worm sprig’ pattern in underglaze blue; designs drawn 
from the Chinese famille rose porcelain; flowers, fruit, 
game and fish naturalistically painted; and moulded 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 273 


patterns in low relief as well as flowers modelled in high 
relief and coloured. After the Nantgarw factory was 
discontinued Billingsley migrated to Coalport and con- 
tinued to paint his well-known roses and other exquisite 
flowers until the time of his death in 1828. During 
Rose’s lifetime the factory was noted for its elaborate 
vases embellished with well painted pictures set in panels. 

Tue Marks. On early pieces occurs the mark 
“Coalport.” Later, the marks vary. We find “‘Coalport,”’ 
“JOHN ROSE & CO., COLEBROOKDALE,”’’“C.B. D.,” 
and “C.D.” On some later pieces C and S are combined 
and in the bows are the small letters C, S and N, for 
Caughley, Swansea and Nantgarw, the factories absorbed 


by Coalport. 


SPODE CHINA—c.1789 To PRESENT DAY (COPELAND’s) 


History. Not long after the middle of the eigh- 
teenth century, Josiah Spode the elder or “Old Spode,” 
to quote the name by which he is often known, estab- 
lished a pottery near Stoke-on-Trent and produced a 
great variety of earthenware of beautiful quality. He 
was a man of cultivation, intelligence, initiative and 
sound business enterprise and, in the latter part of the 
century, he entered upon experiments in making porce- 
lain. Although it is impossible to say precisely when the 
first Spode china was produced, there appears to be good 
reason for believing that it may have been as early as 
1789. In any event, the testimony of the old pattern 
books shews clearly that porcelain of a fine type was 
being made by 1794. 

18 


274 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Josiah the Elder died suddenly in 1797 and his son, 
Josiah the Second, assumed the direction of the business, 
a post for which he was peculiarly well fitted both by his 
intimate knowledge of all the processes involved and by 
his good taste and ability in the realm of decoration. 
The business prospered exceedingly, thanks to the wis- 
dom displayed in its conduct and the good judgment 
evinced in the matter of decoration, and Josiah Spode 
left it on a firm basis to his son and partners. ‘The same 
business continues to-day under the name of Copeland. 

THE Bopy. Although bone-ash had been used in 
making English china before ‘‘Old Spode” entered the 
field of porcelain manufacture, it was at the Spode factory 
first that a correctly determined formula of calcined 
bones in combination with china clay and china stone 
was used, and this produced a body which, from the late 
eighteenth century, became the standard for nearly all 
subsequent English pastes. At one time Josiah Spode 
the Second made a venture in what he called “‘Felspar 
China,” adding pure felspar while reducing the proportion 
of china-stone, but the previously determined bone por- 
celain remained the standard and the ‘‘Felspar China’ 
was ultimately abandoned, even the formula being de- 
stroyed or lost. 

The Spode body is a paste of rich tone, white and 
translucent, without being glassy. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze is clear and transparent 
without being cold and glittering like some of the hard 
German glazes. 

ArticLEs MaprE AnD Contour. ‘The articles pro- 
duced consisted chiefly of tableware and the usual deco- 
rative accessories, although a number of “important” 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 276 


vases and cabinet pieces were made. Nor should we over- 
look the great variety of smaller objects such as ink- 
stands, wafer boxes, bird baths and dishes, charming 
miniature sets, open work baskets and small figures. 

The contours to a great extent followed the precedent 
of earlier-established factories and also reflected the Neo- 
Classic taste that was paramount when the factory was 
founded. 

Types oF Decoration. One of the most distinctive 
types of decoration employed in the early days of the 
Spode factory was what is sometimes known as the 
Crown Derby Japan Pattern, although the evidence of 
the Spode pattern books shews that Josiah Spode was 
devising Anglo-Oriental designs of this type (Plate 102) 
long before the flood of Japanese designs with which the 
name of the Derby factory became so closely associated. 
These patterns, with their deep velvety blues and rich 
gold, were derived, as already pointed out, from the 
Japanese Imari porcelain. 

Josiah Spode the Second was himself an accom- 
plished designer and his well-matured judgment led him 
to a preference for a preponderance of Chinese design as 
appropriate for the decoration of china, although he by no 
means eschewed other types. The purely English type of 
decoration, and the French type were both represented 
very fully in the products of the Spode factory. In the 
interpretation of Spode Oriental designs there is often 
observable a strongly English flavour. 

The decorations employed on Spode china include 
floral subjects, fruits, birds (Plates 98, A; 99 and Io1), 
landscapes and figures, along with rich gilding, and were 
used both in connexion with ground colours (Plate 99) and 


276 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


on china without ground colours. Transfer printing was 
also much used (Plate 100) in black, blue and other colours 
and bat-printing was likewise employed in black and in 
colours. In not a (few instances outline designs were 
transfer-printed and then filled in with colour by brush. 
This was particularly the case with much of the 
*“‘Stone”’ china. 

The ground colours frequently used on Spode china 
include dark blue, scale blue, apple-green, yellow, grey, 
marbled brown, turquoise, striped red and gold, crimson, 
marbled blue, salmon, green, lavender, canary and blue, 
solid gold and dotted or stippled gold, and gold scale on 
a blue ground. 

In an enumeration of the types of decoration must 
be included raised flowers and birds, the willow pattern, 
flowers in Chinese taste, apple-green grounds with flowers 
in panels, views, raised fruit in colours on white grounds 
in the Dresden taste, bouquets of flowers on white 
stippled grounds, birds in the Chelsea manner, hunting 
scenes, bouquets and scattered flowers, numerous adap- 
tations from the Chinese famille rose and famille verte, 
adaptations from the Japanese Hizen porcelain, land- 
scapes with raised white flowers as accompaniment, | 
medallions, vine leaves and grapes, butterflies, landscapes 
in grisaille, monochromes in sepia with gold borderings or 
maroon with gold borderings, and monochromes in other 
colours also, moulded decorations of various sorts amongst 
which must be mentioned the white flowers and other 
small motifs in low relief against such coloured grounds as 
pale lavender or green, Persian motifs, arabesques and sea- 
weed patterns, blue and white willow designs, gold fruit 
and foliage on a royal blue ground, Van Hysum flowers 


PLATE 102 


UO}ZUISUdY YyNOg ‘uInssnyyT Woqly pure ei10jorA 9Y4 Jo Asajinoy 


useiI3 YSIMOT[JaA PUP UOTIUIIOA 


enjq yorr dsap AJA ‘plos Ul UOTJeIOOap aze[B Ivalo ‘aysed AuIeIID 


UANNVW IYVWI ASANVdVE AO SNOISUGA LNAYAAMIG 
NI ‘YdONVS AGNV dNO AdOdS ‘9 GNV UAOAVS AdOdS ° 


qT 


UOT[IWIaA pue oniq dsap Alaa ‘us013 


qUeT[Iq “ymostq ‘pos Yor ur UorzeLooap taze[B Iealo ‘aysed AuresIg 
UANNVW IAVWI ASANVdVE£ NI ASVA AdOdSs ‘¥ 


PLATE 103 


uo.BUISUSyY YyNoG ‘WNnaesny] Weq|y pure BIIOJOI A 9Y} Jo Asayinod 


pol uetjauaA pure yojorA daap ‘yurd daap ‘usaei3 
ysin[q a]ed url uorljeiooap ‘aBur} YsIn[q A][}YBI[s Jo azeis ‘oysed oyIy MM 


LOdVGL GHUCIS-SLHOIVALS TIVH MUN “Z 


an[q JO soyono} pue yoafora dsep 
‘quid dsep ‘pai ueljeua, [[np ‘usei8 ysmnyiq e[ed url uorleiooap uoqqr4 
pue uoojsey *‘Avids lamoy ‘as8ur} YSIn[q A[}UTe] Jo aze]B ‘aysed ay MW 


agoaAVS GNV dNO TIVH MUN ‘V 


PLATE 104 


A. SWANSEA VASE WITH MODELLED AND APPLIED FLOWERS IN BISCUIT 


White paste, glaze transparent; decoration in gold, light blue, pink, black, vermilion and 
pale yellow 


B. PINXTON JARDINIERE 


White paste, glaze slightly greenish; buff Broun Oe decoration in green, sepia, yellow 
and go 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 105 


UOBUISUIY YINOS ‘wNesnyW Weq(Y pue e110zIA ay} JO Asoyinod 


MOTJPA pue aniq ‘yUId ‘aAneWw ‘UMOIG ‘MOTIAA ‘Ud0I3 Ul sjaued ‘SUIpTIZS 
Yolt Yyim ‘Ut UT INOTOD puNnois ani[q 4YBI teze[s ivaj[o ‘aqiyM a4seg 


WId GadVHS ‘ALVId MUYVOLNYN ‘g 


p[os pue suse13 pepeys ‘ajdind ‘uo1piuiea ‘yurd 
‘an[q ‘MO|[9A Ul UOTZeIOOOp JaMOY 4URIT[IIq teze[s Ivalo ‘ayIYM 94seq 


WI CaddVHS HLIM ALVId MAYVOLINVN ‘VY 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 277 


and fruit in a salmon and gold setting, Classic figures in- 
spired by the designs found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, 
clouds and cupids, Capo di Monte figures, “Mandarin” 
motifs, raised flowers, birds and figures in mat gold on 
coloured grounds, and the inimitable Billingsley roses and 
other flowers naturalistically painted on stippled gold 
grounds or plain gold grounds, besides the other forms of 
decoration before mentioned. 

Spode “Stone China” is not porcelain and strictly 
speaking has no place in this volume but it was so near 
an approximation to porcelain and from 1805 onwards, 
when it began to be manufactured in company with the 
real china, it exercised such a profound influence and was 
so popular on account of its beautiful decoration, that it 
would be both unfair and ungracious not to give it at 
least a passing mention. 

Spode’s “‘Iron Stone Ware,”’ as it was usually called, 
received colours and preserved their brilliance in a man- 
ner surpassing all other stone ware. Furthermore, it was 
a semi-porcelain and frequently translucent. It had a 
beautiful white body and the superiority of the products 
and their comparative cheapness built up their popularity 
on the Continent to such an extent that the French 
faience makers were well nigh driven out of business. 

To a great extent Chinese designs derived from the 
famille rose were used for the decoration of the “‘Stone 
China” (Plate 99, B), and such patterns as the Peacock 
design, the Parrot design, the Peony design, and others 
of similar character, all of which were truly remarkable 
for the beautiful freshness of their colouring and well 
balanced composition, earned well merited favour and 
became justly famous. 


278 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Tue Marks. The marks on Spode china are plainly 
displayed and shew the various changes in the constitution 
of the firm at different dates. 


SPoDE | 


SV 2) 
Stone -China 


MINTON CHINA—1798 To PRESENT DAY 


History. ‘The Minton china factory was established 
at Stoke-on-Trent by Thomas Minton in 1798, and has 
continued to the present day. As the experimental days of 
porcelain production were past and the factory was for- 
tunately spared any spectacular vicissitudes during its 
career, there is little history to chronicle. The best 
traditions of the day were followed in the making and 
decorating of the china and there is nothing particu- 
larly distinctive to be noted in that connexion. ‘The 
decoration was always good and the pieces are plainly 
marked so that it is not difficult to identify them. The 
mark was an adaptation of the crossed L’s of Sévres with 
an M between. ‘Tableware has always been the chief 
product although decorative accessories also have played 


their part. We 
Pind | 


DAVENPORT CHINA—c.1793 — 1887 


History. The Davenport factory at Longport, a 
suburb of Burslem, was established by John Davenport 
about 1793; the business was continued by his descen- 
dants till 1887. 'The body, glaze and workmanship of the 
Davenport china are of the highest order, but the decora- 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 279 


tions, for the most part, possess no particular distinction 
and are exactly like those employed at all the contempo- 
rary factories. The influence of Derby, in this respect, is 
more noticeable than that of others. Elaborate dinner 
services, dessert services, tea and coffee services and vases 
were extensively produced. Great use was made of ground 
colours for rich decorations, an apple-green being particu- 
larly favoured. The marks were ‘‘DAVENPORT,”’ 
“DAVENPORT, LONGPORT,” sometimes alone and 
sometimes above an anchor. After 1806 the mark was 
occasionally “DAVENPORT, LONGPORT, STAF- 
FORDSHIRE,” surmounted by a crown. 


DAVENPORT qereRo 


000 mig 


WEDGWOOD CHINA—c.1804 


History. There are in existence a few pieces of 
Wedgwood china, of more or less average design, and 
marked with the word ‘‘WEDGWOOD ” stencilled in blue 
or red over the glaze. These specimens were manufactured 
at Etruria by Thomas Byerly in the first decade of the 
nineteenth century. 

The Wedgwood china had a fine light body with a 
brilliant glaze whose surface was remarkably smooth and 
satin-like in appearance. Decorations occur in both 
underglaze blue and enamel colours, the underglaze blue 
displaying a purplish tinge. The designs often consist of 
flowers and butterflies, either naturalistically painted or 
in a conventional Chinese manner with lattices. Butter- 
flies and large flowers in colours were sometimes used 
and a number of blue and white services were made, 
enriched with heavy gilding. 


280 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


For the most part they do not exhibit any of the 
grace of refinement of the early Wedgwood ware and they 
met with so little success that the venture of making 
porcelain was abandoned by the Etruria works after a 
few years of feeble effort. 


NANTGARW CHINA—1811-1822 


History. The Nantgarw porcelain factory was 
established at the little village of Nantgarw, near Cardiff, 
in 1811 by that vagrant porcelain painter William Billings- 
ley and a little group of associates who had been induced 
to support the scheme. The early efforts were marked by 
discouraging failures and by 1814 all the funds were ex- 
hausted. Mr. Dillwyn, a pottery manufacturer of Swan- 
sea, however, was persuaded that Billingsley could make 
good china if he had the proper facilities and the scene of 
operations was transferred to Swansea. 

There the work was attended with more success, but 
the methods of manufacture were uncertain and the ware 
was often completely spoiled in the firing. In 1817 
Dillwyn, exasperated at the loose methods and the con- 
stant waste, sent Billingsley and his assistants packing. 

They then returned to Nantgarw where some other 
associates came to the rescue with fresh capital. Better 
results now rewarded the endeavours and the Nantgarw 
china achieved a sudden popularity. The leading London 
dealers engaged to take as much of it as the factory could 
make and the Prince Regent ordered a dinner service. 
The production was limited and a great quantity was 
spoiled in the firing. Finally, in 1819, the business broke 
down and the plant was sold at auction. W. Weston 
Young bought the plant and turned over the management 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 281 


to Thomas Pardoe of Bristol. In 1822 the ultimate col- 
lapse came and the factory was closed. 

Tue Bopy. The body was a soft paste, very white 
and of exceptionally mellow appearance, and remarkably 
translucent—more translucent, in fact, than any of the 
other English porcelains. 

Tue Guiaze. The glaze was clear, soft and mellow, 
with a rich velvety quality. 

ArticLtEs MapE anp Contour. Dinner services, 
tea and coffee services and dessert services were the articles 
chiefly made, although a certain number of small vases, 
inkstands and other decorative accessories were also 
fashioned. The contours were those of the Neo-Grec 
period and, while agreeable enough, shewed no especial 
distinction. 

Types oF Decoration. The most characteristic 
motif of decoration employed at Nantgarw consisted of 
flowers (Plate 105, A and B). These flowers were painted 
in the Billingsley manner, so often seen on Derby china, 
where a number of blossoms grouped in composition are 
realistically rendered in rich colouring (Plate 107, B), or 
else they were painted in the Young manner, single flowers 
being copied most meticulously as though intended to 
serve as illustrations of botanical specimens. Fruits were 
also treated in the same manner and, occasionally, birds 
supplied the theme. The favourite flowers were Billings- 
ley’s admirably painted double roses, along with tulips, 
lilies and other blooms of brilliant and contrasting colours. 
Very often butterflies and small insects figured in the 
decorations, and Pardoe painted birds on branches as well 
as flowers while, in some instances, single birds executed 
with the exactitude of ornithological coloured illustra- 


282 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


tions (Plate 106) supplied the theme. The Billingsley 
roses and other flowers frequently occur massed in panels 
reserved on gold grounds (Plate 107, B). For rims and 
borders ground colours were largely used, sometimes with 
reserved panels (Plate 105, B) and sometimes without. 
Moulded ornament in low relief was often employed and, 
in many cases, the relief was left in the white, the coloured 
decorations occupying the smooth surfaces. A great deal 
of the Nantgarw china was decorated not at the works 
but in London, by Mortlock. Gilding was sparingly 
applied at Nantgarw; the pieces decorated in London are 
apt to exhibit much fuller gilding. 

THe Marks. ‘The most usual mark was the name 
NANT-GARW,, impressed in the paste, oftentimes accom- 
panied by the letters C. W., also impressed. Any mark 
or marks other than this, or not impressed in the paste, 
should be regarded with distrust. Very rare marks are 
the name Nantgarw beneath a crown, name and crown 
both being painted in puce colour, or NANT-GARVW,, in 
capital letters, in gold, enclosed within a line. The name 
NANTGARW printed in red is a mark to excite suspicion. 
A great deal of spurious Nantgarw china is to be found. 


NANT GARW - 


SWANSEA CHINA—1814-1823 


History. Ever since 1764 there had been a prosper- 
ous little earthenware factory at Swansea and it was to 
this little plant that L. W. Dillwyn welcomed Billingsley, 
Walker and the rest of the disconsolate and ill-fated 
Nantgarw troupe in 1814, immediately after they were 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 283 


obliged to relinquish their first Nantgarw effort. Kilns were 
built alongside the earlier pottery and work commenced. 

The early Swansea china, made on the first arrival 
of the Billingsley tribe, was the best and was precisely like 
that of Nantgarw. The great trouble, however, was that 
about ninety per cent. of it was regularly spoiled in the 
firing. ‘To overcome this difficulty, Walker modified the 
composition of the body. 

After 1817, when Dillwyn could no longer stand the 
frightful expense of these wasteful methods and sent the 
whole Billingsley contingent flying, the china was made 
of this modified body and the factory was carried on under 
the direction of Timothy Bevington, one of the share- 
holders. In 1820 Bevington became owner of the estab- 
lishment and work was carried on a little longer, but the 
venture was not profitable and the factory was closed 
i824. 

Tue Bopy. From 1814 to 1817, while the Billingsley 
régime lasted, the body was the same soft paste as used at 
Nantgarw—eranular, exceedingly translucent, and very 
white, but with a faint greenish tinge when held up against 
the light. After Billingsley’s departure from Swansea, 
modifications were made in the body in order to render 
it harder, denser and more durable. The later paste had 
a yellowish tinge, a more chalky texture, and was less 
translucent. Some of it, indeed, was opaque. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze on the earlier Swansea china 
was the same as the Nantgarw glaze. The glaze on the 
modified body seems to have been softer and was distin- 
guished by its peculiar dead whiteness. 

Artictes Mapr anp Contour. ‘Tableware, dessert 
services, tea services and the smaller decorative accessories 


284. THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


were the products of the Swansea factory. The contours 
shewed all the usual Neo-Grec characteristics of the period. 

Types oF Decoration. The most characteristic 
decoration of Swansea china consisted of “Billingsley”’ 
flowers, that is to say, flowers painted in the manner 
affected by Billingsley whose methods were greatly ad- 
mired by most of the china decorators of his time and 
were closely imitated. For each flower he laid a flat 
ground of colour and then brushed out the high lights and 
usually juxtaposed light and dark flowers to intensify the 
effect. These multi-coloured flowers were sometimes small 
and arranged in bouquets, knots, garlands and festoons. 
Birds were often employed as decorative themes and, to 
a certain extent, low reliefs moulded in the paste were 
used in conjunction with colour and gilding for the enrich- 
ment of plate rims. Decorative scrollwork and ribbons, 
in colour or in gold, were likewise made use of. Inci- 
dentally, gilding was much more freely employed at 
Swansea than at Nantgarw. There were also wild roses, 
wild strawberries, and Henry Morris introduced elaborate 
fruit compositions. To a small extent figure subjects, 
with stippled grounds, and monochrome landscapes are 
to be included in the decorative catalogue. Ground 
colours were a good deal used, frequently of delicate tones, 
but besides these there were deep blue, pink yellow, buff 
or biscuit colour and green. Oftentimes marbling or 
mottling appeared instead of a solid ground colour for the 
borders of plates and dishes, the marbled effect being 
produced by a network of lines of a deeper shade than 
the underlying ground colour or else by a network of gold 
lines. Figures were not made at Swansea but modelled 
flowers in high relief, not seldom in the biscuit (Plate 


PLATE 106 


NANTGARW PLATE 


Paste creamy, clear glaze and brilliant: richly gilded rim, decoration in bright yellow and 
orange, shades of yeliow, yellowish green and brown 


Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington 


PLATE 107 


u0JBUISUSY YINOS ‘uInasnyP Woq[y puUe BIIOAIA 94 Jo Asaqyinog 


SUIP[Is JueIT[IIq AAvoY ‘aso1 pue uses ‘yxuId ‘antq ‘MoOT[aA 
Ul sjoeued IaMOY OT4SI[eInjzeUu A[YSIY -4UeITI[IIq oze[s ‘aqIYM a4sed 


LOdANI MUYVOLNVN GddVHS-FaIdNaA “Z 


Agi3 WIeM UI UOTy 
-e 1009p swoIyoouoU ‘surpueq pos tysiniq A[YsI[s eze[s ‘azI4M 948seqg 


UHONVS CNV dNO LYOdTVOO “V 


PLATE 108 


UOJBUISUBY YANO ‘UINesNyP JJEq[Y PuUe eIIOJIA 944 Jo AsozINOD 
use13 YSI] pue 


MO][aA pue yurd 
en[q-Aeis 4ysI]T ‘pjos ul UuolyeIooep ‘4ueRITIIq ozes 


dSVA “IVOINGNITAOD LaXOdTVOO 


‘AUIVIIO 94SPq 
‘a 


yuid daap 


‘antq Ul uOor}eIODEp 


‘ 


JURIT[IIG pus Iva[O 9ze[3 ‘azIYM 94seg 


AVUL NI HSI YALLNG LAOdTVOO “V 


PLATE 109 


UOYBUISUIY YINOG ‘wnaesny oq[y pue eI10,OIA 9Y4 Jo Asaqzinod 


use13 pue moja ‘anyq 4yYysr] ‘asueio dsap ul sjauevd paAtesal Ul sIaMOy 
‘Buipyis Aavay ‘punoisd painojoo-yinosiq +1va[o azejs ‘AwivatIo o4sed 


9ONf WVHONIMOOU ‘2 


plos pue 
quid ‘anjq ‘Usei3 UI UOIZeIOOVp :MOT[aUI PUP IvaID aze[s ‘a}IYM 94seq 


NOSVd YVONS WVHONIMOON “V 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 286 


104, A), were applied to embellish vases and similar 
objects, in conjunction with colour and gilding on their 
smooth surfaces. 

Tue Marks. In all likelihood, much of the earlier 
china made at Swansea bore the Nantgarw mark. The 
Swansea marks were the name SWANSEA impressed in 
the paste or printed in red, DILLWYN & CO., BEV- 
INGTON & Co., and, after 1817, a trident was often 
impressed in the paste along with the other marks. 

SWANSEA 


ROCKINGHAM CHINA—1820-1842 


History. ‘The Rockingham china factory, at Swin- 
ton in Yorkshire, was established by Thomas Brameld 
about 1820 as an outgrowth of the potteries that had 
flourished for some time previously. The work was under 
the patronage of Earl Fitzwilliam, Marquis of Rocking- 
ham and, for this reason, was called Rockingham china. 
A few years after the start of the enterprise, Brameld was 
financially embarrassed, but the Marquis of Rockingham 
came to the rescue and continued generous support as long 
as the factory lasted. Despite the ambitious designs of 
Brameld, the excellence of the body and glaze, and the 
acclaim with which the ware was received, the works did 
not pay and were closed in 1842. 

Tue Bopy. The body was bone porcelain of the 
best quality, dense in texture and creamy white in colour. 

Tue Giaze. The glaze was clear, transparent, per- 
fectly distributed and brilliant. 


286 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


ArticLEs MaprE anp Contour. Besides the usual 
production of table services, dessert services, tea services 
and all the customary smaller decorative accessories, a 
number of large and exceedingly elaborate vases and cabi- 
net pieces were made and also statuettes in biscuit, in the 
Derby manner. The contours were those that distinguished 
the period when a certain diluted remainder of Neo-Grec 
influence still survived. Although some of the shapes were 
fairly good, none of them possessed any real distinction. 
The best were survivals from former periods. Moulded 
edges were of common occurrence on dessert services. 

Types or Decoration. Although all the technical 
processes of manufacture and decoration were perfect, 
and although no expense was spared to secure the services 
of the best artists and decorators of the period, the pre- 
vailing taste of the time was sinking to lower and lower 
levels, and the only distinction apparently left for Rock- 
ingham china to achieve was in the way of gorgeousness. 

All the possible decorative processes, enumerated and 
explained in earlier pages, were understood and employed 
and all the earlier modes of decoration, as understood and 
interpreted at that particular time, were made use of. 
Ground colours with reserved panels (Plate 109, B), in 
which were flowers, fruits, birds or landscapes, were par- 
ticularly favoured, and lavish gilding was extensively 
practised. Elaborate dessert services with landscapes and 
still life subjects became a speciality of the works. Most of 
the pieces were very much over-decorated. Rockingham 
china is famed both for its beautiful ground colours and 
for the exquisite finish of its painting. Amongst the 
favourite ground colours were the noted “‘Rockingham 
green,” popular for dessert and tea services, apple-green, 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 257 


a. darker blue-green, deep mazarine blue, bright blue, 
azure, three grades of pink, the darkest of which closely 
approached the famous Chelsea “‘claret,’? yellow some- 
what deeper then the well-known Derby canary, buff or 
biscuit colour with gold for borders, pale orange, and a 
cool grey which, in conjunction with a little gilding, was 
favourably regarded by Quakers and was presumably 
devised for their use. Diaper patterns were also occasion- 
ally employed to good effect. 

Tue Marks. The marks that usually occur are the 
words “ Rockingham Works, Brameld,” or “Royal Rock- 
ingham Works, Brameld,”’ printed or else impressed in the 
paste, along with a griffin, the crest of the Fitzwilliam 
family, impressed or painted in red. The crest is said not 
to have been used till 1826. Sometimes a royal crown also 
appears. 


Brame 


WIRKSWORTH CHINA—c.1759-1777 (?); c.1804-? 


History. In the second half of the eighteenth cen- 
tury soft paste porcelain was made at the Holland Manor 
House, at Wirksworth in Derbyshire. Although the his- 
tory of the factory is obscure, there seems to be reason 
to believe that it was established about 1759, that one 
Gill was connected with it, and that it continued in oper- 
ation till about 1777. It is believed that pottery was 
first made at Wirksworth and that porcelain making was 
a subsequent venture; in what year the manufacture of 
porcelain began, it is impossible to say. From about 1777 


288 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


till after the beginning of the nineteenth century there 
was apparently a cessation of work. Then, sometime 
subsequent to 1804, it is said that Billingsley revived the 
Wirksworth establishment for a brief period. 

The paste, not of the softest variety, was of good 
quality, fairly translucent, smooth of texture and of a 
slightly warm-grey tinge. ‘The products appear to have 
been chiefly tea equipage, dessert services and the usual 
sorts of tableware. 

Bemrose mentions the similarity of the decorations 
to those in general use at Lowestoft, while the colouring 
was strong though not crude. A good deal of delicately 
moulded ornament in low relief was used—daisies, honey- 
suckle, roses and leaves. The subjects of decoration were 
chiefly flowers such as roses, pinks, cornflowers and blue- 
bells, in small scattered sprigs and sprays, in knots and 
garlands attached with bows of ribbon or with rows of 
dots, and also occasionally in the form of larger blooms. 
The tasselled ornament to be found on Lowestoft borders 
was often employed, as well as dots, and the panels or 
cartouches for borders filled in with scale or diaper designs. 
The colours most used were crimson, pink, a reddish 
brown, puce, blue, green and yellow. 


MADELEY CHINA—c.1827-1840 


History. The manufacture and decoration of China 
at Madeley, in Shropshire, seems to have been the im- 
mediate outcome of the discontinuance of the Nantgarw 
and Swansea china. In its general character the Madeley 
china was virtually the direct successor of these wares. 

The china factory at Madeley was established and 
conducted by Thomas Martin Randall who, prior to 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 289 


engaging in this enterprise, was a member of the firm of 
Robins and Randall, Burnsbury Street, Islington, china 
decorators. During the great popularity of Nantgarw 
and Swansea china, Mortlock, the London china dealer 
of Orchard Street, was ready to take every bit of it he 
could get, whether decorated or “‘in the white.” As a 
matter of fact, a great deal of it was shipped to London in 
the white and there decorated, as already mentioned in 
the account of Nantgarw china. One of the firms that 
executed much of the decoration was that of Robins and 
Randall. A considerable amount of the Welsh china, 
when decorated in the Sévres manner was profitably sold 
as “Old Sévres,”’ for its highly translucent, glassy body 
closely resembled the earlier French paste. Randall was 
well aware of the lucrative business to be done in both the 
Welsh and the old French chinaware, and this knowledge 
doubtless encouraged him to undertake his manufacturing 
scheme. Being an experienced chemist, as well as a 
capable decorator, he was thoroughly familiar with all the 
processes of making soft paste porcelain. When he sev- 
ered his connexion with the London firm and went to 
Madeley, in 1825, he was well prepared for the making 
of soft paste porcelain. 

Two kinds of china were made at Madeley and a 
third kind was decorated there. There was a soft paste 
china that was very like the porcelain of Nantgarw, 
Swansea and the earlier Sévres; there was a china whose 
body was somewhat harder and this was produced in a 
more essentially commercial manner; and there was 
French chinaware imported in the white, or bearing only 
slight decorations that could be removed with acid, and 
of this large quantities were decorated. 

19 


290 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


In 1840 Randall, having acquired a comfortable 
fortune and being well advanced in years, retired from 
business and the Madeley factory was closed. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The china dealers considered the Made- 
ley body the nearest approximation to the old Sévres soft 
paste ever made. It was just as translucent as the finest 
Nantgarw porcelain, but more creamy in tone and, there- 
fore, possessed of the mellow quality characteristic of 
the best old Sévres. The Nantgarw was often like snow 
in the whiteness of its tone; the Madeley paste was more 
like cream or rich milk. The harder paste had much 
the same appearance. There was no bone-ash used in 
the composition. 

Tue Graze. The glaze had the same general re- 
semblance to the old French glaze as the body had to the 
Sévres paste. 

ArticLEs MapeE anp Contour. The articles chiefly 
made at the Madeley works were tea services, sweetmeat 
dishes, cake trays, wine coolers, candlesticks, spill vases, 
cabinet cups and covers, dishes, plates and general table- 
ware and decorative accessories. Besides, there were 
occasional plaques for furniture inlay and a few statuettes 
and figures. The contours were both those characteristic 
of the period and those typical of Sévres and the other 
Parisian factories in the latter portion of the eighteenth 
century. : 

Types oF Decoration. At Madeley the most 
capable decorators were employed and nearly all the 
decoration was distinctly in the French eighteenth century 
manner, especially in the particulars more or less typical 
of Sévres. This following of French fashions was so much 
the case that not a little of the Madeley china was habit- 


ENGLISH CHINAWARE 291 


ually sold by the dealers at high prices as old Sévres, and 
some of them were exceedingly annoyed at “‘the old 
Quaker,”’ as they called Randall, because he would not 
forge the Sévres marks. On both varieties of paste pro- 
duced at Madeley the decorations included flowers, fruit, 
birds, amorini, delicately executed landscapes and pastoral 
scenes after the fashion of Watteau and the painters of his 
school, along with Rococo scrolls and other incidents of 
embellishment. The gilding was good and was often of an 
elaborate character. A number of good ground colours 
were used, the most successful of which were rose Pompa- 
dour, turquoise blue, apple-green, and pink. 

Tue Marks. Neither kind of Madeley paste shews 
any marks. This absence of marks made it very easy for 
dealers when they wished to do so—as it seems a number 
of them did—to forge marks. Whatever marks were on the 
French china decorated at Madeley were allowed to 
remain. 


LANE DELPH (MASON) CHINA—Late EI1cHTEEentu 


CENTURY—C.1850 
CAULDON (RIDGWAY) CHINA—1813-c.1858 


History. Some time in the latter part of the 
eighteenth century Miles Mason established a pottery at 
Lane Delph (now Middle Fenton) in Staffordshire where 
a considerable quantity of ironstone china was made and 
well decorated with patterns similar to those used at 
Derby. In addition to the ironstone china, however, a 
certain amount of porcelain seems to have been made in 
the fore part of the nineteenth century. The popular 
willow pattern and divers other decorations were used, and 


292 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


a number of the Oriental patterns were printed in blue 
and red, with gilded borders. The “‘ willow pattern”’ ware 
of Lane Delph was often printed in a paler shade of blue 
than was to be found on wares made elsewhere. About the 
middle of the nineteenth century the factory was sold and 
passed through various hands subsequently. The Lane 
Delph or Mason china displayed a variety of marks, all of 
which were plainly indicative of the origin. 

The Cauldon Place Works, at Shelton, were estab- 
lished by Job Ridgway in 1813. These works continued in 
the control of the Ridgway family until 1858, when John 
Ridgway retired and sold out his interests. Earthenware 
of various sorts, stone-china and porcelain were all made 
at the Cauldon Place Works. The porcelain was of admi- 
rable quality and some of it displayed decorations that 
were both elaborate and rich. All the decorations were 
well executed, whether the subjects were flowers, fruit, 
birds, landscapes or figures. Green, deep blue and rose 
Pompadour were favourite ground colours and the gilding 
was both rich and excellently laid. Various marks were 
used, but nearly all of them clearly shew the source 
of manufacture, 


PLATE 110 


UOJBUISUIY YING ‘urnesny PIq[Y pUe PIIOZOIA 94} JO AsazinOsy 


usdis pue yurd ‘Mmoy[aA ‘Attaq{nur 


deep Ul UOT] e1O0ap ‘ YystAai3 ATLY SIS oze]B 


aSVA TIVH NOLONOT 


. 


‘a]IYM 94SseVg 
Sf 


qT 


‘ 


SUMOIQ PoTIeA 
suse13 YSIMo][aA pue ysinq{q ‘ 


pue UOl[IWI9A Yep pue pol UIpUT 


an{q YSlIq ul UOTZeIODEp 


‘ 


adonvs ANV dNO TOOdugAIT 


9PM P[Od azeRIB 
a 


‘I}IM 34seg 


PLATE 111 


erydjepeiyd ‘unasnyy eluealAsuued 34} jo Asozinod 


BUIP[IS JURIT[IIq ‘sInNO][OO [eINjeU UI SlamMog :a[pueYy pue diy 
‘aseq ye JUSWIeUIO pepjnow ‘ysmy]q A[jY4sIIs aze[s ‘aqysed optyMm AFI 


0€81°9 ‘Ad VHS OILSIMGALOVUVHO dO ONL MAMONL “A 


pjos pue 
use13 4YUsI] ‘onjq deep ul UOI}yeLIOONp taze{s Iva{o ‘aysed o4IYM ARTI 


HSIG GadVHS-TIAHS YUMONL “V 


PLATE. 112 


elydjapeiyg ‘unasny eluealAsuusg ay} jo Asoyinod 


UMOIG UI UOT}eIOAp [[e :aze[B Iealo ‘aqsed 931YM AFI] 
of8t°o “LOd AAAAOO UAMONL “F 


UMOIQ YIVp UL 


uolzelOoep sdeospur] suIOIyIOUOW 


‘ 


eZe[s Ivealo 


‘aysed o41yM AX] 


Of81 OM IMOE-_AVONS Mason 


PLATE 113 


LARGE TUCKER WATER JUG OF CHARACTERISTIC SHAPE, c.1835 


Paste milky white, clear, brilliant glaze; typical flower decoration in natural 
colours, brilliant gilding 


Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia 


PLATE 114 


eiydlapeliyg ‘uinesnyy eluea[Asuuag 94 Jo Asayinoy 


uoljelooap pjo3 ‘Apoqg 
UI JUQWeUIO Paepl[Noul taze[s JUeTTIIIG ‘Iva[o ‘a4sed 9414YM AX[IP[ 


OQOf YaANMONL GHdVHS-ASVA ‘FT 


uloyjed _Japids,, pjo3 
url A[TJOYM UOTZeLOOSp ‘aze[B JUeITIIIG ‘Ivajo ‘aysed ayyM AI 


aLV1Id YaHONL TIVNS °V 


PLATE 115 


A. FRAGMENT OF SOFT PASTE PORCELAIN, c.1770 
Made at Southwark, Philadelphia. Creamy paste and glaze; decoration in blue 


Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia 


B. SMALL TEAPOT AND TEACUPS OF ORIENTAL CHINA 
One of a set from which William Penn drank tea in Philadelphia 


Courtesy of Mrs. H. Genet Taylor 


PLATE 116 


elydjaperiyg ‘uinasnyy eruearAsuuedg 34} jo AsozInod 


elydjapeliyg Ul SylOMi9zeM PTO 94} JO MIIA 
opel} UROTIOUIY 94} IO} spew ‘HOVIq UI poazulid sJoJsueIL ‘pel UBITIOULY 94} JO] apeul ‘anjq eze[siepun ut peyurid Jaysuery 


00819 ‘ONf TOOdUYAATI ‘Gg G€LV1Id AAIHSGCUAOdKNVILS ANITA V 


AMERICAN CHINAWARE 


To many it may appear strange that more space has 
not been devoted to American china. As a matter of 
actual fact, very little china was made in America prior to 
1840, the year up to which this volume treats of china 
making. Most of the old china in America, with the 
exception of the products of one exceptional china factory, 
is either china made at one of the factories already enumer- 
ated in England or else china imported from the East. The 
china of the British factories forms part of the common 
Anglo-Saxon heritage, along with language, laws and 
customs. 

The plates, platters, dishes tureens jugs and tea 
services with American buildings, views and public per- 
sonages printed in blue as decorations, were, almost with- 
out exception, made at Liverpool or the Staffordshire 
potteries for the American market. Comparatively few of 
them are really chinaware at all. Most of them are an ex- 
cellent quality of white earthenware or stone china and, 
therefore, strictly speaking, do not come within the pur- 
view of this volume which deals with porcelain of both the 
soft paste and hard paste types and the bone-porcelain, 
which stands mid-way between the two. 

As pointed out, in the earlier sections, the chinaware 
of Oriental and English origin can be studied and collected 
in America just as well as in England, for it was brought to 
America in the Colonial period and in the early years of 
the Republic by ship-loads. 

293 


294 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


NORTH CAMBRIDGE CHINA—c.1769 


History. One of the earliest attempts to make 
china in the Colonies appears to have taken place in 
Boston. We know almost nothing of its beginnings, and 
less of the results it achieved. Whether any soft paste 
porcelain was actually produced, it is impossible to say. 

In the Boston Evening Post, of May 15, 1769, appeared 
an advertisement asking for samples of white clays and fine 
white sand, to be submitted for examination. On the 16th 
of October, 1769, appeared the following advertisement: 


“Wanted immediately at the new Factory in New Boston, four 
Boys for Apprentices to learn the Art of making Tortoise shell, Cream 
and Green Colour Plates, Dishes, Coffee and Tea Pots, Cups and 
Saucers, and all other Articles in the Potter’s Business, equal to any 
imported from England.” 


What was the outcome of this venture is not recorded. 


PHILADELPHIA (SOUTHWARK) CHINA—1769-1772 or 1773 


History. In December 1769, the following card or 
handbill notice was circulated in Philadelphia, then the 
largest and most important city of the Colonies: 


“New Cuina Ware. Notwithstanding the various difficulties 
and disadvantages, which usually attend the introduction of any im- 
portant manufacture into a new country, the Proprietors of the China 
Works, now erecting in Southwark, have the pleasure to acquaint the 
public, they have proved to a certainty, that the Clays of America are 
productive of as good Porcelain, as any heretofore manufactured at 
the famous factory in Bow, near London, and imported into the 
Colonies and plantations, which they will engage to sell upon very 
reasonable terms; and as they purpose going largely into this manu- 
facture as soon as the works are completed, they request those per- 


AMERICAN CHINAWARE 295 


sons who choose to favour them with commands, to be as early as 
possible, laying it down as a fixed principle, to take all orders in rota- 
tion, and execute the earliest first; dealers will meet with the usual 
encouragement, and may be assured, that no goods under Thirty 
Pounds’ worth, will be sold to private persons out of the factory, at a 
lower advance than from their shops. All workmen skilled in the dif- 
ferent branches of throwing, turning, modelling, moulding, pressing 
and painting, upon application to the Proprietors, may depend on 
encouragement suitable to their abilities; and such parents, as are 
inclined to bind their children apprentices to either of these branches, 
must be early in their application. .... All orders from the country, 
or other provinces, inclosed in letters, postpaid, and directed to the 
China Proprietors in Philadelphia, will be faithfully executed, and the 
Ware warranted equal to any, in goodness and cheapness, hitherto 
manufactured, or imported from England.” 


The promoters of this enterprise were Mr. Gousse 
Bonnin, who had probably learned his trade at Bow, and 
Mr. George Anthony Morris. Later they advertised for 
bones, so that it is evident they made use of bone-ash in 
the paste. In 1772 they advertised again for apprentices to 
learn the various branches of making and decorating china. 

Like many others who had before them embarked on 
the making of porcelain, the undertakers of the Southwark 
china factory found to their sorrow that it was a very 
expensive business and beset with difficulties. In 1771 
they appealed to the Assembly of Pennsylvania for finan- 
cial assistance in the form of a subsidy or else of a loan, 
and they also had recourse to a lottery in order to raise 
badly needed funds. What success they met with in these 
directions we know not, but after running the factory fora 
little more than two years they were obliged to close it, 
the real estate was sold, and Bonnin went back to England. 

Tue Bopy. ‘The body was a soft paste porcelain of 
granular texture and of a mellow cream colour. 


296 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


THe Giaze. The glaze was clear, soft and of a 
velvety quality. 

ArticLes Mapr Anp Contour. ‘The articles made 
were of the “‘useful’’ sort and included dinner services, 
dessert services with fretwork fruit baskets, tea services 
and all the small table accessories. ‘The shapes were those 
then current in England and were patterned on those of 
Bow, Chelsea and Worcester. 

Types oF Decoration. The types of decoration 
included moulded devices in low relief and painted flowers 
and leaves in underglaze blue. 

Tue Marks. ‘The mark was a small P in underglaze 
blue. 

In the Pennsylvania Museum (Memorial Hall) there 
is a piece (Plate 116, A) of this ware, belonging to the 
Franklin Institute, which once formed part of a dinner and 
dessert service. It is of good quality and compares favour- 
ably with the early work of Bow or Worcester. 


BERGEN (NEW JERSEY) CHINA—c.1825 


History. ‘‘The Jersey Porcelain and Earthenware 
Company,” was incorporated in the town of Bergen, New 
Jersey, on the 1oth of December, 1825. “In the following 
year,” we are told by Dr. Barber, “the products of the 
factory were awarded a silver medal at the exhibition of 
the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, as being the ‘best 
china from American materials.’”” In the Trumbull- 
Prime Collection in Philadelphia there is a bowl of good 
body and glaze made at Bergen. The manufacture of 
porcelain did not continue, however, more than a couple 
of years and seems never to have Dorie ae appre- 
ciable results. 


AMERICAN CHINAWARE 297 


NEW YORK CHINA—c.1816 


History. Porcelain is said to have been made in 
New York City early in the nineteenth century, probably 
by Dr. Mead, and it is believed that ware of an excellent 
quality was produced from American materials, but data 
concerning this venture and authenticated pieces, with 
one or two exceptions, are lacking. In the Pennsylvania 
Museum, (Memorial Hall) Philadelphia, there is a vase 
fifteen inches high, of soft paste body and exceedingly 
white glaze marked “finished in New York, 1816.” There 
is no gilding and it is without coloured decoration. 


PHILADELPHIA (TUCKER) CHINA—1825-1838 


History. From 1816 to 1822, Benjamin Tucker, a 
Philadelphia Quaker, had a china shop in Market Street. 
His son, William Ellis Tucker, who had a talent for draw- 
ing and painting, often decorated the china and his father 
built for him a kiln in the back premises wherein to fire it. 
The younger Tucker was obsessed with the notion of 
making porcelain and carried on numerous experiments to 
that end. At length, having satisfied himself that he could 
achieve his purpose, he established a china factory in 1825, 
his younger brother Thomas being associated with him. In 
1828, Thomas Hulme became a partner and in 1832 Judge 
Joseph Hemphill became a member of the firm. William 
Ellis Tucker died in 1832 but the business was carried on 
with great success until 1838, when it was discontinued. 

Tue Bopy. The body was neither the same as the 
French soft paste porcelain nor was it the same as the bone 
porcelain made in England, but it had characteristics 
common to both. It was, indeed, more nearly allied to the 


298 THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE 


Oriental hard paste porcelain. It had great heat-resisting 
qualities and fire tests shewed that it would stand an 
higher degree of heat than the Sévres hard paste porcelain 
of the same period. 

At first the paste had a yellowish tinge, but before 
long it was brought to a creamy mellow white. 

Tue Guaze. The glaze was clear, transparent and 
of beautiful quality with a bluish tinge wherever it accu- 
mulates in thicker masses near mouldings or in flutings. 

ArTicLES MaprE anp Contour. ‘Table services, 
dessert services, tea and coffee services, inkstands, jardi- 
niéres, vases and all the usual decorative accessories were 
made extensively. Some of the shapes were quite original, 
but the majority of them shewed a strong Neo-Grec 
influence and many of them were close copies of Sévres 
forms. Pitchers and jugs seem to have been a speciality 
(Plates 112, A; 114 & 115, A). 

Types oF Decoration. The Tucker china may be 
divided into three decorative periods. During the first 
period, from 1825 to 1828, the decorations consisted of 
crude monochrome landscapes, or butterflies, flowers and 
fruits painted in sepia or brown (Plate 113, A and B). 
There was no transfer printing, and gold was employed 
only to a very limited degree. 

In the second period, from 1828 to 1832, Thomas 
Hulme very materially improved the character of the 
decoration, which now included sprays or groups of 
flowers, well executed (Plate 112, A and B), with an 
appropriate degree of gilding. Roses were conspicuous in 
the bouquets and floral decorations, and birds also sup- 
plied motifs. There were also decorations entirely in white 
and gold (Plate 115, B), executed with great distinction. 


AMERICAN CHINAWARE 299 


In the third period, from 1832 to 1838, more ambi- 
tious decorations (Plate 114) were employed and so well 
carried out that a great deal of the Tucker and Hemphill 
china has frequently been mistaken for Sévres until the 
marks were examined. Sepia landscapes, with gilding, 
were continued, and all the flower and bird types of the 
second period, but, in addition, there were table services 
and vases with compositions of festoons, wreaths and 
medallions. Medallions, enclosed within foliage bands, 
flower wreaths or gold tracery, displayed monograms, 
initials or armorial bearings. Occasionally portraits, also, 
made their appearance. In the compact bands and fes- 
toons of flowers of many colours, roses, tulips and forget- 
me-nots were especially in evidence. 

Tue Marks. When the Tucker china was marked it 
was plainly marked with the names of the makers, the mark 
varying with the different changes in the personnel of the 
firm. A great deal of the china, however, is altogether 
without marks but in nearly every instance it can be 
identified beyond all question by comparison with the 
pattern books, which have been preserved. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Io. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


. “Tor New Cuarrers”: Marks anp MonocraMs ON EurRoPEAN 


AND ORIENTAL PoTTERY AND PorRCELAIN, WITH HISTORICAL 
Notices oF EACH Manuractory:* William Chaffers, 13th 
Edition. Reeves & Turner, London, 1912. 


. Encuiisw Porcerain: Arthur Herbert Church, Chapman & Hall, 


London, 1885. 


. PoRCELAIN, ORIENTAL, CONTINENTAL AND BritisH: R. L. Hob- 


son, E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1906. 


. Otp Encuisu Cuina: Mrs. Willoughby Hodgson, G. Bell & 


Sons, London, 1913. 


. PoTTERY AND Porce.Lain: A HANDBOOK FoR COLLECTORS; Trans- 


lated from the Danish of Emil Hannover, with notes and ap- 
pendices, by Bernard Rackham, E. Benn, Ltd., London, 1925. 


. A History aANp DeEscrRIPTION oF ENGLisH PorRCELAIN: William 


Burton, Cassell & Co., London, 1902. 


A Brier History or OLtp ENGiisH PoRCELAIN AND ITs Manu- 
FacTorIEs: M. L. Solon, Bemrose & Sons, London, 1903. 


CHELSEA PorcELAIN: William King, Benn Bros., London, 1922. 


CATALOGUE OF THE SCHREIBER COLLECTION OF PORCELAIN: 
Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington; His Majesty’s 
Stationery Office, London, 1915. 


CATALOGUE OF THE HERBERT ALLEN COLLECTION OF ENGLISH 
PorceLain: the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensing- 
ton, Bernard Rackham, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 
London, 1917. 


*T his compendious book is veritably the china lovers’ and collectors’ “Bible”, so to 
speak. It contains an enormous quantity of data regarding every aspect of both 
pottery and porcelain and is an indispensable source of reference for the student. 


303 


304 


Il. 


12. 


13. 


14. 


IS. 


16. 


17. 
18. 


19. 


20. 


D2) OR 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


CATALOGUE OF THE COLLECTION OF ENGLISH PORCELAIN IN THE 
DEPARTMENT OF BriTIsH AND MeEpDIAEVAL ANTIQUITIES AND 
ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE British Museum: R. L. Hobson, 
London, 1905. 


CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE History oF Earty Encuish Por- 
cELAIN: J. E. Nightingale, Bennett Bros., Salisbury, 1881. 


Toe Ceramic ArT or Great Britain: Frederick William 
Llewellynn Jewitt, J. S. Virtue & Co., London, 1883. 


ENGLIsH PoTTERY AND PorcELain: Edward Andrews Downman, 
London, 1918. 


THE First Century or EnciisH Porcetain: W. Moore Binns, 
Hurst & Blackett, London, 1906. 


SPODE AND His Successors: Arthur Hayden, Cassell & Co., 
London, 1925. 
Op SpopeE: T. G. Cannon, F. A. Stokes & Co., New York, 1924. 


THe CERAMICS OF SWANSEA AND Nantcarw: W. Turner, Bem- 
rose & Sons, London, 1897. 


WorcesTER Porcerain: R. L. Hobson, B. Quaritch, London, 
I9IO. 

A Century oF PoTTING IN THE CiTy oF WorcESTER: Richard 
William Binns, London, 1877. 


Tue Cueyne Book or CHELSEA CHINA AND Potrery: Reginald 
Blunt, London, 1924. 


. THe PoTTERY AND PoRCELAIN OF DERBYSHIRE: Alfred Wallis 


and W. Bemrose, Junior, Bemrose & Sons, London, 1870. 


. Loncton Haut Porcerain: William Bemrose, Bemrose & Sons, 


London 1906. 


. Orv Bow Cuina: Egan Mew, T. C. & E. C. Jack, London, 1909. 


. CHELSEA AND CueELseA-Dersy Curina: Egan Mew, T. C. & 


FE. C. Jack, London, 1909. 


. Bow, CHELSEA AND Dersy Porce.Lain: William Bemrose, Bem- 


rose & Sons, London, 1898. 


27. 


28. 


29. 


30. 


31. 


a3. 
33- 


34. 


35. 


36. 


37: 


38. 
39- 


40. 


AI. 
42. 


43. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 305 


Tue Oip Dersy Cuina Factory: John Haslem, G. Bell & Sons, 
London, 1876. 


Cuats on Enciisu Cuina: Arthur Hayden, F. A. Stokes & Co., 
New York, 1904. 


Tue A. B. C. or Cotiectine Otp Encuisu Cura: J. F. Blacker, 
G. W. Jacobs & Co., Philadelphia, rg1o. 


Tue Carina Coxtiector: H. William Lewer, D. McKay, Phila- 
delphia, 1914. 

A History anp DescripTion oF FrenNcH Porcetain: E. S. 
Anscher, Translated by William Burton, London, 1905. 


Porce.ain: William Burton, London, 1906. 


Rogpert Hancock anp His Works: A. R. Ballantyne, London, 
1885. 


PoTTERY AND PoRCELAIN IN THE UNITED States: Dr. Edwin 
Atlee Barber, New York, 1901. 


CHINESE PoRCELAIN BEFORE THE PRESENT Dynasty: S. W. 
Bushell, Pekin, 1886. 


CuinesE Art: S. W. Bushell, Handbook, Victoria and Albert 
Museum, South Kensington, 2 vots. 1906. 


CHINESE PoTTERY AND PORCELAIN, BEING A TRANSLATION OF 
THE T’ao Suuo: S. W. Bushell, Oxford, 1910. 


La ManuFacTureE DE PoRCELAINE DE CHANTILLY: Paris, 1892. 


HistorrE pes MaNuracTuRES FRANCAISE DE PORCELAINE: 
Comte de Chavagnac, Paris, 1906. 


Les ORIGINES DE LA PoRCELAINE EN Europe: Baron J. C. 
Davillier, Paris, 1882. 


Porcetain: E. J. Dillon, London, 1904. 


HisTOIRE DE LA CéERAMIQUE, PoTERIE, FAiENcEsS ET PorRcE- 
LAINS CHEZ Tous LES PEup es: E. Garnier, Tours, 1882. 


Tue Sort Paste PorceLaAIn oF SEvres: E. Garnier, London, 
1892. 
20 


306 BIBLIOGRAPHY 


44. DICTIONNAIRE DE LA CEéRAMIQUE: E. Garnier, Paris, 1893. 


45. Discorso Suita Fapsrica pi PorcELLANA STABILITA IN VIN- 
ovo: Vittorio Amadeo Gioanetti, Torino, 1859. 


46. CHINESE PoRcELAIN AND Harp Stones: Edgar Gorer and J. F. 
Blacker, London, 1911. 


47. La CéRAMIQUE CuINoIsE: E. Grandidier, Paris, 1894. 

48. CHINESE Porce.ain: W.G. Gulland, London, 4th Edition, 1918. 
49. Roya CopeNnHAGEN Porcetain: Arthur Hayden, London, 1g1rt. 
50. PorcEeuain or Att Countrises: R. L. Hobson, London, 1906. 


51. HistorrE ARTISTIQUE, INDUSTRIELLE ET COMMERCIALE DE LA 
Porce.Laine: A. Jacquemart et E. Le Blant, Paris, 1862. 


52. History oF THE Ceramic Art: A. Jacquemart, Translated by 
Mrs. Bury Palliser, London, 1873. 


53. HisTorrE ET FABRICATION DE LA PoRCELAINE CHINOISE: Stanislas 
Julien, Paris, 1856. 


54. History oF THE CoaLportT PorcEeLtatn Works: Frederick 
William Llewellynn Jewitt, London, 1862. 


55. THe Gartanp CoLLecTION IN THE MetRopouitan Museum, 
New York: Laffan, New York, 1907. 


56. THe SEvres Porce.Lain oF BuckiNGHAM PaLacE aND WINDSOR 
CasTLE: Guy Laking, London, 1907. 


57. La MANUFACTURE DE PoRCELAINE DE SEVRES: Gaston de Breton, 
Paris, 1882. 


58. Potrery aNnp Porcetain: Frederick Litchfield, London, 1912. 


59. A History or PoTtrery anp Porcexzain: J. Marryat, London, 
1868. 


60. History aND DEscRIPTION OF CHINESE PORCELAIN: W. C. 
Moukhouse, Notes by S. W. Bushell, London, tgor. 


61. La FABBRICAGIONE DELLA PORCELLANA IN NAPOLI E DEI PRo- 
poTT1 Ceramici Arrini: G. Novi, Napoli, 1879. 


62. 
63. 
64. 
65. 


66. 


67. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 307 


Reuics oF WiLtL1aM Cooxwortuy: Prideaux, 1853. 
LowesTortT Cuina: W. W. R. Spelman, London, 1905. 
CoNTINENTAL Cuina: C. H. Wylde, London, 1907. 


Cutna Coutectine 1n America: Alice Morse Earle, New York, 
1907. 

Otp EnciisH CHINA witH AMERICAN ViEws: Edwin Atlee 
Barber, Indianapolis, 1899. 


THE Otp Curna Boox: N. Hudson Moore, F. A. Stokes & Co., 
New York, 1903. 


pee 


INDEX 


A 


Advice, to china student, 30-37 

Albrechtsburg, Castle of, 179, 181 

Alcora, china, 177 

Ale, breakfast beverage, 2 

Alencon, kaolin and felspar, 166 

Alluaud, M., 172, 173 

Atlantic seaboard, 12 

America, 12, 13 

American, china, 293-299; Colo- 
nies, 4 

Amstel, china, 207-210 

Anglo-Oriental, designs, 275 

d’Angouléme, Fabrique du Duc, 
164 

Ansbach, 200 

Antheaume, 112 

Antonibon, Pasquale, 100 

Applied reliefs, 26 

Arabesques, 157,276; Classic, 161; 
Renaissance, 161 

d’Argenson, Marquis, 121, 135 

Arita, 75, 77; china, 79, 80 

Armand, 147 

Armorial bearings, 52, 148, 228, 
246, 258, 262 

Arras china, 150 

d’Artois, Comte, 154; Fabrique 
du, china, 155-158 

Aubert, 147 

Aubiez, Maurin des, 154 


Augustus III, Elector of Saxony, 
237; the Strong, 178 
Austrian china, 201-203 


B 


Bachelier, 120, 147 

Banks, Mr., 267 

“Barbary” porcelain, 92 

Barber, Dr. E. A., 296 

Barbin, Francois, 115; 
Baptiste, 115 

Barnegat sands, 12 

Baroque, age, 35; contour, 35, 36; 
manner, 109 

Barr, Martin, 242; Flight & Barr, 
243 

Barrachin, 155 

Bartolozzi, 246 

Basketwork, 245; moulded, 91 

Bassano, 100 

“‘Batavian”’ ware, 66 

Battersea, 229 

Bat-printing, 246, 276 

de Baynal, 112 

Bayreuth, 200 

‘“Beach= china, 12 

Belgian china, 211, 212 

Bellevue, chateau de, 121 

Bengraf, 195 

Benjamin, 156 

Bergen china, 296 


Jean- 


311 


312 


Berlin china, 187-190 

Berthevin, Pierre, 213 

Bevington, Timothy, 283, 285 

de Beyerlé, Baron Jean Louis, 
169, 170, I7I 

Billingsley, William, 266, 267, 
273, 280-284; manner, 281; 
roses, 277, 281, 282 

Biscuit, 15, 17, 94, 100; Bristol, 
262; Sévres, 142; Swansea, 
284 

Blanc de Chine, 61 

Bleu du Rot, 117, 126, 131, 146, 
199 

“Blue and white” ware, 28, 47, 
48, 51, 63, 80 

Bloor, Robert, 248, 251 

Boboli, Gardens, 83 

“Bodiless”’ porcelain, 46, 53 

Bohemia, materials from, 201 

Boileau, M., 135, 153, 167 

du Bois, brothers, 119, 120, 122; 
Madame, 5 

Boizot, 147 

Bone, ash, 20, 21, 224, 225,°225; 
243, 290; china, 235, 285; 
paste, 23; procelain, 20, 21 

Bonnin, Gousse, 295 

Boston, 4, 294; Evening Post, 294 

Bottger, Johann Friedrich, 178, 
179, 180, 184 

Boucher, 238; children, 211 

Bouchet, 147 

Bouillat, 147 

‘‘ Bourbon sprig”’, 272. 

Bourdon-Desplanches, 155, 156, 
157 


INDEX 


Bourg-la-Reine china, 149, 150, 

Bourgogne, Duchesse, de, 105 

Bow, 34, 87, 98, 195, 197; 
workmen and decorators, 257 

Bow china, 220-230 

Bowcocke, John, 221-223 

Brameld, ‘Thomas, 285, 287 

Brancas-Lauraguais, Comte de, 
166 

Bristol, china, 260-264; London 
warehouse, 261; works, 259 

British Museum, 46, 60 

‘**Brocaded”’ ware, 80 

Brodel, Giovanni, 101 

Brongniart, 88, 141, 142, 143 

Broseley dragon, 269, 272 

Brunswick, Duke of, 195 

Brussels china, 211, 212 

Buen Retiro china, 176, 177 

Buontalenti, Bernardo, 83 

Burlington Magazine, 236, 237 

Burmah, 42 

Burton, William, 17, 20, 25, 
36, 41, 224; Mr., of Linton, 
268 

Busts, 89 

Butterflies, 279 

Byerly, Thomas, 279 


C 


Cabbage-leaf jugs, 245, 256 
Cadet, 160 

Caen china, 174, 175 

Caffieri, 147 

Cairo, 9; porcelain market, 42 
Camelford, Lord, 259 ~ 


INDEX 


Campo, 88 

Canary-yellow, Derby, 287 

Canton, 10 

Capo di Monte china, 95-100; 
QI, 176; factory, 88; figures, 
277; imitations, 204 

Carl Eugen, Duke of Wiurtem- 
berg, 197, 198 

Cartouches, 148, 209 

Cassel, 200 

Castle Green, 260 

Caughley china, 268-271; “blue 
and white,” 257; factory, 242; 
“willow pattern,” 257 

Cauldon, china, 291, 292; Place 
Works, 292 

Cavendish, Lady, 229 

Celadon ware, 29, 75, 80, 108; 
Gxported, 41, 42; origin of 
name, 42 

Chabry, 147 

Chaffers, Richard, 253, 254; & 
Co., 254 

Chamberlain, Robert, 242, 243; 
factory, 247 

Champion, Richard, 259-261, 263, 
264 

Chanou, 160, 161 

Chantilly china, 111-114; 34, 87, 
90, 91, 118, 122, 137, 235; 
Chateau de, 111; formula, 122; 
“Chantilly sprigs”, 270 

Chapelle, Jacques, 127, 128 

Charles, III. King of Naples, 95, 
Go,170; Vil, 78; Theodore, 
168, 198 

Chartres, Duc de, 154 


313 


Chelsea china, 230-239; 87, 195, 
197; decorators, 241; “‘claret- 


colour p28 7 wiartory, a7: 
painters, 244, 245 
Chelsea-Derby, china, 234; 


period, 238, 239, 250 

Chicanneau, Dominic, 108; 
Geneviéve, 107; Jean  Bap- 
tiste, 107; Pierre, 107; M. 106 

‘Chicken cups,” 49 

Chihli, 43 

China, 9; mania, 1-13; clay, 17, 
18:5 cot china, 314: "stone, -r7, 
18, 20 

Chinaware, making of, 22-29; 
Oriental, 38-82; what it is, 
14-21 

Chinese, dragon, 257; chrys- 
anthemums, 227; lattices, 279; 
motijs, 202, 227; porcelain, 
52-54, 241; chief periods of, 
38, 39, golden age of, 50; 
peonies, 227; shapes, 109; taste, 
117 

Ch’ing Dynasty, 39, 50-52; Em- 
perors of, 40 

Ching-té Chén, 43-45, 50, 51, 53, 
74, 76 

Chinotseries, 95 

*“Chintz” patterns, 202 

Chinsi, 88 

Chocolate-drinking, 2, 3 

Christian, Philip, 253 

Chrome green, underglaze, 146 

Chin Chou yao, 41, 63 

Church Gresley china, 268 

Cinnabar, 63 


314 

Cirou, Ciquaire, 111, 112 

*‘Claret-colour,’? Chelsea, 246, 
287; claret-coloured ground, 238 

Classic, devices, 95, 99, 100 

Clay. “shorty: 223 fat 7.22 

Clignancourt china, 161-163 

Clodion, 147 

Cloisonné, 45 

Coalport, china, 271-273; China 
Co., 271; factory, 269 

Cobalt, 28; blue, 63; Persian 
supply, 47 

Cock & Co, 222 

Coffee, W. T., 268; drinking, 2, 3 

Coke, John, 266, 267 

Colours, 90; coloured decoration, 
24 

Comb pattern, 80 

Condé, Prince de, 111, 112 

Contour, characteristic Chinese, 
56-60; of periods, 35; flat bowl, 
34; Japanese, 78 

Cookworthy, William, 258, 259, 
260; & Co., 261, 264 

Copeland, 274; Copelands china, 
273 

Copenhagen china, 215-217, 257; 
“Copenhagen” patterns, 184, 
217 

Copper-red, 63 

Cornflower motif, 148, 157, 171, 
272 

Cornish, coast, 10; customs gau- 
ger, 11; kaolin and felspar, 258 

Cosway, 246 

“Cottage china’, Bristol, 262, 265 

Coudray, Barbe, 107 


INDEX 


Courtille, Fabrique de la, china, 
159, 160 

de Coussy, Mathieu, 8 

Cox, James, 233,234 

Cozzi, china, 92; Geminiano, 93; 
factory, 94, 95 

Crackled ware, 55, 61 

Craft. Patz 

Crockery, 2 

Crowther, John, 221, 223 

Crusaders, 7 

Cumberland, Duke of, 231 

Custine, Comte de, 170, 171 

Cutts, Mr., 267 

Cyfile, 170 

Cyphers, 148 


D 


Daishoji, 81 

Danish china, 215-217 

Darton, 213 

Davenport, china, 278, 279; John, 
278 

Davis, William, 240 

“‘Dead-leaf” brown glaze, 186 

Decoration, Chinese, 60-71; de- 
pending on glaze alone, 60-63; 
slip, 61, 63; underglaze colour, 
61, 63-65; glazes of several 
colours, 61, 65; enamel colours 
over glaze, 61, 65-67; famzulle 
noir, 61, 65; famille verte, 61, 
65; famille rose, 61, 65-67; 
chrysanthemum and _ peony, 
61, 66; “Mandarin”, 61-63, 
64, 66; “India”, 61, 64, 66; 


INDEX 


“Imari”, 61, 66; Kakiyemon, 
61, 66; reserved panel, 61, 66; 
“Jesuit”, 61, 66, 67; “ Lowes- 
itt, 675 coral red, 61, 65: 
Japanese, 78, 79; en camaieu, 
119, 127; enamel painted, 28, 
29, 50; coloured, technique, 
49; monochrome, 44; poly- 
chrome, 44, 45, 90, 109; indi- 
vidual types, 34; methods of, 
26-29; white, 26, 27; colour 
and gold, 27-29; underglaze 
colours, 29; coloured glazes, 29 

Deleneur, 150 

Delft, 207; decorations, 256; pot- 
tery, 2 

De Moitte, 162 

Derby china, 247-251, 36 

Diaper patterns, 45, 67, 68, 69, 
BOat, 126, 146; lattice, 147; 
“partridge eye”’, 117, 131, 146; 
trellis, 147; diapered borders, 
228, grounds, 67 

Dietrich, 181 

Dihl, 164 

Dillwyn, L. W., 280, 282, 283, 285 

Directoire, motifs, 148 

Doccia china, 84-92; factory, 87; 
paste, 89 

Dodin, 147 

Dorez, Barthélemy, 110 

Dragon, “Broseley”, 269, 272; 
Chinese, 257 

Dresden, china, 178-187, 34, 87, 
90, 91, 93, 112, 120; occupied, 
180; factory looted, 186; paste, 
124, manner, 124, 272 


315 

“Dress,services”’, 246 

““Dryander, M., 170 

Duesbury, William, 223, 233, 
234, 238, 247-250 

Duplessis, 120, 124, 143, 147 

Durnford, Clark, 255 


Dutch) 2sichina, )2o7-211> Eaet 
India merchants, 76 
E 


East India Companies, English, 
Dutch and French, 7; East 
India Company, 10; French 
East India Co., 110 

“‘East India” flowers, 185 

*“*Egg-shell,”’ porcelain, 46, 53, 80 

Egypt, 41; Egyptian motifs, 148 

Ehrenreich, 213 

Emblems, 67, 71, 72, 73 

Embossing, 26 

Empire Style, 89; “‘frigidities” 
of, 181 

Enamel colours, 24, 27, 28, 29, 
75, 81, 90, 95 

England, 12, 13 

English china, 220-292; “‘English 
pink”, 28 

Engraving, 26, 81 

Kste china, 102 

Etruria, 279, 280 

Etruscan, motifs, 148; types, 91, 


92 

Etterbeek, 211, 212 

d’Eu, Comte, 149 

European, porcelain, 19 

‘“‘Export wares’, Oriental, 38; 
export of Chinese porcelain, 50 


316 


F 

Falconet, 147 

Famille rose china, 51, 258, 266, 
272,296, 2773) RotT, “1 verte, 
50, 51, 276 

Faubourg, St. Antoine, 107, 160, 
165; St. Denis, 155; St. Honoré, 
107 

Fauquez, Sieur, 173 

Fawkener, Sir Everard, 231, 233, 
237 

Felspar, 17, 18, 20, 89; ‘‘Felspar 
china”’, Spode, 274 

Fén Ting, 43 

Ferdinand IV., 96 

Ferrara, 102 

Figures, 23, 89, 94, 236; Bow, 
229; Chelsea, 240; . Chinese, 
56; St. Cloud, 108; Swansea, 
284 

Fillets, 71 

Firing, 45; 46; coal, 155% china, 
24; Japan, 25; processes, 23 

Fischer, Moritz, 203 

Fitzwilliam, Earl, 285 

Flight, Thomas, 242; &Barr, 242 

Florence, 11, 83, 84, 85 

Flowers, modelled, 114, 122, 123, 
125; flower, holders, 123; pots, 
116 

Fontaine, 148 

Fontanieu, 160 

Forget-me-nots, 148 

Fournier, 172; Louis, 215, 216 

Fox, Henry, 236 

France, 13, 34 

Francesco I., de’Medici, 83 


INDEX 


Francis I., 8 

Frankenthal, 153, 168, 193; china, 
198-200 

Franklin Institute, 296 

Franks, Sir Wollaston, 60, 70 

Frederick, Augustus, 120; the 
Great, 180, 187-189 

French china, 103-175; porcelain, 
87 

Fretwork, 26, 27 

Frye, Thomas 22m 229 

Fuchien, province of, 44; white 
ware, 27, 45, 53, 61, 90, 98, 
109, 226 

Fujiyama, 79 

Fulda, 200 

de Fulvy, M., 119, 120,122,125 

Furstenberg china, 195-197 


G 


Gentleman’s Magazine, 241 

Gérin, 119 

German, china, 178-200; “Ger- 
man flowers’, 185, 392, 20a: 
porcelain, 18, 19 

Gerona china, 177 

Gerréault, Sieur, 132 

Gessner, Solomon, 206 


Gilding, 24, ~95, | §2G, 9156; 
Bristol, 263; Nantgarw, 282; 
raised, 202; restrictions, 136; 


secret of, 125; Sevres, 148; 
Swansea, 284; Wedgwood, 279 

Ginori, china, 84-92, II, 35; 
family, 88; Marquis, 11; re- 
productions, 100 


INDEX 


Gioanetti, Dr., 101 

Girandoles, 226 

Glaser, 195 

Glaze, character of, 24-26; com- 
position characteristic Chinese, 
54-56; crackled, 42, 52;coloured 
42, 44, 45, 55, 81; “‘transmu- 
tation”, 55, 62; “tear-drops’”’, 
56; vari-coloured, 55; Celadon, 
62; sang de boeuf, 62; Clair 
de lune, 62; ‘“‘dead-leaf”’ brown 
62; café au lait, 62; soufflé, 62; 
jasper, 62; flambé, 62 

Glazing, processes, 23-26 

““Goat and bee” jugs, 230 

“Gold Chinamen”’, 183, 218 

Gombroon ware, 3, 9, 10, 105 

Gorodayu Go-Shonzui, 74 

Gotzkowski, 187, 190 

Gouyn, Charles, 230, 231 

Granby, Marquis of, 245 

Gravant, M., 119, 120, 
125 

Greek motifs, 148 

Grellet, M., 172 

Gresley, Sir Nigel, 268 

Grisaille decorations, 263, 276 

Grousfeldt-Diepenbrock, Count, 
207 

Grotesque figures, 108 

Ground colours, 91, 100, I17, 
Tat,01es, 240, 260, 276, 292; 
Rockingham, 286; Sévres, 146 

Groups, 89; Sévres, 147 

Guerhard, 164 

Guettard, 160 

Guiche, Duchesse de, 106 


F232) 


317 
H 


Hague, The, 207; china, 210, 211 

Hancock, R., 245, 246 

Hannong, family, 153, 154, 158, 
200; Joseph Adam, 168, 169; 
Paul, 166, 167, 168, 169, 198; 
Pierre Antoine, 101, 155, 156, 
158 

Harbour scenes, 98 

Hard-paste porcelain, 13, 16-19; 
conchoidal fracture, 16; enam- 
el colours, on, 28 

Haviland, M. Charles, 173 

*‘Hawthorn” pattern, 63 

Heath, John, 233, 247, 249 

Heidegger, 206 

HHellot 120, 1821257425 126 

Hemphill, Judge Joseph, 297, 299 

Herbo, Dorchies, 151 

Herculaneum, 98, 99, 
Works, 254 

Herend china, 203, 204 

Herold, Johann G., 180, 184, 185 

Hettlinger, 139 

Heylyn, Edward, 221 

Hewelche, 93 

Hirado, 77, 78, 81 

Hizen, 75, 80, 81; porcelain, 276 

Hochst, china, 190-192; work- 
men, 206; runaway workmen, 
187 

Holland, House, 236, 237; Manor 
House, 287 

Holdship, Richard, 249 

Hudson, Manorial families of, 5 

Huet, 156 


2775 


318 


Huline, Thomas, 297, 298 

Hunger, Christoph Conrad, 94, 
98, 201, 218 

Hyakken, 75 


I 


Imari, ‘‘brocaded”’ patterns, 185; 
decoration, 227; designs, 238, 
275; Japanese, 54; patterns, 
202, 250, 266; motifs, 114; 
ware, 76, 80, 112, 246 

Imitative shapes, 33, 34; styles, 
34 

India, 41 

“Indian flowers”, 192, 202 

Ink pots, 113 

“Tron Stone Ware’’, Spode, 277 

Italian china, 83-102 


J 
Jackfield, 271 


Jacquemart, 62 

Jacques et Jullien, 115, 116, 128, 
149 

Jade, 41 

Japanese, birds and flowers, 202; 
China, 74-82; decoration, 34; 
designs, 275; examples, 226; 
influence, 238; porcelain, 34, 
38, 74-82, 112 

‘Japan Patterns”, Crown Derby, 
275 

Jersey Porcelain and Earthen- 
ware Co., 296 

“Jewelled” Sévres, 148 

Julien, 147 

Ju Yao, 41 


INDEX 


K 


Kaga, 75, 80 

Kakiyemon, 75, 77; decoration, 
112, 184; designs, 238; man- 
ner, 117, 2273 moms, 414. 
ware, 79 

Kandler, Johann, 180, 183, 189 

K’ang Hsi, reign of, 50 

Kaolin, 17, 18) 20,022, 5 ue 
75, 89 

Kauffmann, Angelica, 246 

Kean, Mr., 248, 251 

King, of Poland, 178; William, 
231 

Kingston-on-Hudson, 6 

Kioto, 75; china, 82 

Kloster-Veilsdorf, 200 

Knife handles, 113, 116 

Korrodi, 206 

Korzec, 219 

**Kronenberg”’ ware, 198 

Kuan yao, 41 

Kuhn, 181 

Kihne, Chrétien, 212 

Kutani, ware, 77, 78, 81, 82 


L 


“Lace” decoration, 189 
‘Lady pattern”, 238 

La Fontaine, fables, 171 
Lalande, 160 

Lallenment, 112 
Lambrequins, 117 
Lamoniary, M., 173 
Lancret, 118 

Lane Delph, china, 291, 292 


INDEX 


Lanfrey, Francois, 170, 171 

Langen, Baron von, 195 

Lassia, 160, 161 

Lauraguais china, 166 

Leaf-shaped dishes, 237 

Leboeuf, André-Marie, 163 

Lecot, 147 

Le Guay, 147 

Leichner, Anton, 210 

Leithner, 203 

Leipzig, Easter Fair, 180 

Lemaire, Sieur, 154, 165 

Lemire, 170 

Le Nove, china, 100, 101 

Le Riche, 147 

Levaux, 147 

Lille, china, 110, 111 

Limbach, 200 

Limoges, china, 172, 173; kaolin, 
174 

Lisbon, china, 177 

Lister, Dr. Martin, 105 

Littler, William, 247, 251 

Liverpool, Advertiser, 254; china, 
253, 254; Museum, 253 

Locker, Mr., 248 

Locré, 159 

London, auction sales, 222; ware- 
house, 222 

“Long Elizas”’, 64 

Longport, china, 278, 279 

Longton Hall, 247; china, 251, 
252 

Louis XIV., 6, 9; XV., 137, 138, 
4a.) court, 1155 style, 36; 
XVI., 138, 140, 143, 144, 145, 
151, 152; Philippe, 154, 165 


319 

Lowenfinck, A. F. von, 190 

Lowestoft, china, 254-258; dec- 
oration, 265, 288; china ware- 
house, 255 

“Lowestoft”, Chinese, 52; man- 
ner, 228 

Ludwigsburg, china, 197, 198 

Lunéville, 170 

de Luynes, Duc, 121 

Lyes, J. 240 


M 


Macquer, 125 

Madeley, china, 288-291 

Madrid, china, 176, 177 

Maestro Antonio, 92 

Maine, Duchesse de, 128 

Mainz, Archbishop of, 190 

Manchu, Dynasty, 39, 50-52 

“Mandarin” china, 83, 85, 228, 
258, 277 

Mann, Sir Horace, 11 

Mansfield, 267 

Marcolini, Count, 181 

Maria Theresa, Empress, 201 

Marie Antoinette, 139, 151, 163 

Marieberg china, 213, 215 

Marie-Joséphe, Dauphine, 120 

Maremma, 84 

Marks, Chinese, 71, 74; forged, 
33; least reliable identification, 
33; Japanese, 79 

Marseilles, china, 172 

Martaban, Gulf of, 42 

Martabani, ware, 42 

Mason, china, 291, 292; Miles, 
291 


320 


Massié, 172 

Masso bastardo, 88 

Mathieu, 120 

Matsura, 81 

Manbrée, 205 

Max Joseph 
Bavaria, 192 

Mazarine blue, 64, 238, 272 

Medallions, 91, 98, 299 

Medici, 8; china, 92 

Mehlhorn, J. G. 215 

Meissen, 179 

Melchior, Johann Peter, 191, 193 

Mennecy-Villeroy, 36, 91; china, 
115-119, 137; flowers, 214, 228; 
factory, 149 

Merault, 147 

Menlau, 158 

Middle Colonies, 4 

Mikawachi, 75 

“Mild” porcelain, 18 

Ming, “blue and white’, 48; 
Dynasty, 39, 44-50; Emperors, 
39, 40; period, 53 

Minton china, 278; Thomas, 278 

Modelled, figures, 81, I91; 
flowers, 89; ornament, 109 

Modellers, Sévres, 147 

Mohammedan blue, 47, 48 

de Mol, 208 

Moncloa, china, 177 

Mongol Dynasty, 39, 43, 44 

Monograms, 148 

Monsieur, Fabrique de, a Clig- 
nancourt, 161-163 

Monte Carlo, 88 

Morden College, Blackheath, 223 


III, Elector of 


INDEX 


Morris, George Anthony, 295; 
Henry, 284 

Mortlock, 289 

““Mosatk” borders, 189, 192 

Moulded, decoration, 245; orna- 
ment, 282; patterns, 226 

Moulding, process of, 130 

Moulmein, 42 

Mugs, 2 

Muller, Frantz, 215, 216 

Munich, 193 

Museum, curators, 32, 36; use of, 
32 

Mythological subjects, 110 


N 


Nabushima, china, 75, 77, 78, 80 

Nadin, Mr., 268 

Nagasaki, 75 

Nankin, 45 | 

Nantgarw, china, 280-282, 288, 
289, 290; factory, 273 

Naples, 88, 90, 95 

Napoleon, 141 

Nast, 165 

Naudeck, 192, 193 

Neo-Classic, contours, 144; in- 
fluence, 36; style, 35; motifs, 
89, 91; taste, 97; trend, 244 

Neo-Grec, contour, 35; influence, 
36; style, 89 

New College, Oxford, 42 

‘‘New Canton”, 220, 224 

New England, 45 

New Hall, 258, 261; china, 264- 
266 


INDEX 


New Jersey, china, 296 

New York, 4, 5; china, 297 

Niderviller, china, 169-171 

Nieuwe Amstel, 208 

de Noailles, Maréchal, 168 

North Cambridge, china, 294 

Nymphenburg, china, 192-194; 
palace, 193 

Nyon, china, 205 


O 


“Old Japan” pattern, 184, 227, 
229, 238 

Oporto, china, 177 

Oriental, chinaware, 10, 38-82, 
241, 256; influence, 124, 237; 
porcelain, 19, 235, 237; shapes, 
89, 108, 117, 236; decoration, 
108 

Orléans, china, 132, 133; Ducd’, 
106, 110; Fabrique du Duc d’, 
165 

d’Osson, Marquis, 155 

Oude Amstel, 208, 209, 210 

Oude Loosdrecht, 208, 209 

Owari, china, 75, 77 

Oxford, Journal, 241 


Pp 


du Pacquier, Claude, 201, 203 
Padova, 102 
Pai Ting, 43 
Pajon, 147 
Pardoe, ‘Thomas, 281 
2I 


321 


Paris, china, 151-153; factories, 
IOI, 156, 290; porcelain making 
103; merchants, 9 

Parrot design, 277 

Passau, china materials, 
195, 197 

Peacock design, 277 

Pélissier, Pierre, 110 

Penn, William, 6 

Pennington, Seth, 253 

Pennsbury, 6 

Pennsylvania Museum, 296, 297 

Penthiévre, Duc de, 128 

Peony design, 277 

Percier, 148 

Pére d’Entrecolles, 
54, 62 

Perforations, 26, 27 

Perrotin, 147 

Persia;<41;° 425/) Persian, ‘Gulf, 
10; motifs,, 276; underglaze 
blue, 47 

Peterinck, 130 

Petuntse, 17, 18, 20, 53, 74) 75 

Pewter, 254 

“Pheasant and border” pattern, 
238 

Philadelphia, 4, 5, 6; china, 294, 
296, 297-299 

Pigalle, 147 

Pinxton, china, 266, 267; Manor, 
266 

Pithou, 147 

Pitt, Thomas, of Boconnoc, 259 

Plymouth, china, 258-260 

Podmore, R., 240, 254 

Polish, china, 219 


188, 


letters of, 


322 


Polychrome, decoration, 49, 50; 
painting, 118 

Pomatum pots, 113, 116 

Pompadour, Madame de, 121, 
128, 134, 135 

*“Pompeian”, china, 99; Pom- 
peian, manner, 157, 159; motifs, 
91, 92, 148, 157, 159 

Pompeii, 98, 99, 277 

Pontchartrain, M. de, 103 

Popincourt, Fabrique de la Rue, 
china, 165 

Porcelain, “artificial”, 19; body, 
I5, 18; casting, 23; Chinese 
manufacturing, 39-52; differ- 
ent sorts, 16; development of, 
43-52; distinguishing proper- 
ties, 15, 16; moulding, 23; 
glaze, 15; nature of, 14; test, 
IS; translucence, 15; white- 
ness, 15 

Portici, china, 95; Villa Reale, 96 

Portland, Duke of, 108 

Portrait busts, Sévres, 147 

Porto Ferraio, 88 

Portuguese china, 176, 177 

Poterat, Louis, 103, 104, 106 

Potter, 112 

Pourcelaine de Sinant, 8 

Pouyat, 173 

Powder-blue, 52, 64, 227, 246 

Prunus blossoms, 63, 90, 91, 109, 
226, 2273; sprigs, 125 


Q 


Queen Anne, 105; Charlotte, 268; 
Elizabeth, 8; Mary, 4, 10 


INDEX 


R 


Randall, Thomas Martin, 288, 
289, 290, 291 

Regulations, 
118, 119 

Reichard, 187 

Reid & Co., 253 

La Reine, Fabrique de, 163, 164; 
“‘Porcelaine a”, 163 

Reserved panels, 146 

Resonance, 52 

Restrictive edicts, 154 

Reticulations, 131 

Reverend, Charles, 103 

Ribbings, moulded, 192 

‘“‘Rice-flower” Ting, 43; rice- 
grain decoration, 27, 46, 47 

Richelieu, Duc de, Memoirs, 121 

Ridgway, china, 291, 292 

Rims, 34 

Ringler, Joseph Jacob, 192, 193, 
197 

Risampei, 74, 79 

Robert, J. G., 172 

Robillard, 205 

Rockingham, china, 285-287; 
Marquis of, 285; ‘“‘Rocking- 
ham green’’, 286 

Rococo, contour, 35; influence, 
36, 236; manner, 94, 117, 183, 
192; mode, 144; period, 35; 
taste, 97; scrolls, 192; type, 89 

Roman, motifs, 148; porcelain, 102 

Rose, John, 269, 271 

Rose du Barry, 145; Pompadour, 
145, 272, 291 

Rosset, 147 


anti-polychrome, 


INDEX 


Rouen, 108, 
104, 106 
Rue, de Bondy, china, 164; de 
Reuilly, Fabrique de la, 160, 

161; Thiroux, 163, 164 
Ruffinger, 159 
Russian, china, 218, 219 
Royal Crown Derby Porcelain 
Co., 248 


117; china, 103, 


S 


Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, china, 151 

Saint Cloud, china, 36, 87, 103, 
105-110, 115, 118, 235; chateau 
de, 106 

Saint Lazare, faubourg de, 155 

Saint Petersburg, china, 218, 219 

Salopian china, 253; Salopian 
China Warehouse, 269 

San Ts’at, colour scheme, 50 

Sapphire blue, 47 

Saxony, 13, 86, 93; Elector of, 
120, 178; porcelain, 124 

Scale blue, 246, 276 

“Scattered flower” decoration, 
114, 185, 228; and insect, 169 

Sceaux, china, 91, 127-129, 149 

Schaerbeek, 211, 212 

Schoelcher, 156 

Sculptors, Sévres, 247 

Sea-weed patterns, 276 

Sesto, 84 

Sévres, china, 18, 19, 90, 117, 118, 
119, 133-149; influence, 238; 
“jewelled”, 148; imitations, 
290; manner, 272 

Shell salt cellars, 98 


323 
Shu fu yao, 43 
Siam, King of, 9 
Silesia, china materials, 188 
Silver, 2, 3 
Sioux, 147 
Slip, casting, 23; luting, 23, 27; 
painting, 27 
Smalt, 54 
Soapstone, 54; body, Worcester, 
243 
“Soft paste” porcelain, 13, 19, 
20; Chinese, 53, 54; enamel 
colours, on, 29; manner of 
fracture, 19; materials, 20; 
translucence, 19; whiteness, 19 
Sonnenschein, 206 
Soulavie, 121 
South, the, 4 
Southwark china, 294-296 
Spanish and Portuguese china, 
176, 177 
Spengler, 206 
Spode china, 273-278; Josiah the 
Elder, 273, 274; Josiah the 
Second, 274, 275; ‘“‘Old Spode” 
273, 274; “Stone China”, 276, 
277 
Sprimont, Nicholas, 231, 233, 
234, 235, 249 
Statuettes, 23, 116, 123, 133, 195, 
197, 201, 218; Chinese, 56 
Steatite, 54 
Stolzel, Samuel, 201 
‘Stone China”, Spode, 276, 277 
Strasburg, IOI, 153, 198; china, 
166-169; corporation, 166; 
factory, 167, 168; faience, 169 


324 


Stratford-le-Bow, 220 

Strawberry Hill, 11 

Swansea china, 282-285, 288, 289; 
factory, 273, 280; ‘‘Swansea 
roses’’, 272 

Swedish china, 213-215 

Swiss china, 205, 206 

“Sultan of Babylon”, 8 

Sung, Dynasty, 39, 41-43; facto- 
ries, 44; period, 52 

Symbolism, in decoration, 71 


Symbols, 67, 71, 72, 73 


di 


Table-services, 130, 131 

Tankards, 2, 3 

Tea, and coffee equipages, 263, 
281; drinking, 2, 3, 7; equip- 
age, 3, 755 .tea tackle’, 3) 275 

Teapots, types of, 35 

Téhua, factory, 44, 45 

Throwing, process of, 130 

Ting Chou, 43; Ting yao, 43, 44, 
46 

Tokuemon, 75 

Torino, 101 

Torksey china, 266, 267 

Tortoise-shell grounds, 146 

Touque, 8 

Tournay, china, 129-132, 210, 211 

Trade, Persian and Indian, 50 

Transfer printing, 190, 229, 245, 
257, 269, 276 

Translucence, 52 

Treviso, china, 102 

Trumbull-Prime Collection, 296 


INDEX 


Tucker china, 297-299; Benjamin, 
297; William Ellis, 297 

Tunstall, 261, 264 

Turner, Thomas, 268, 269 

Tschirnhausen, 178, 179 

‘Tyger and rock” pattern, 238 

Tyrolese motifs, 90 


U 


Underglaze, blue, 28, 47, 90; 
blue painting, origin of, 47; 
colours, 24, 27, 28; green, 28; 
red, 28, 48, 49; rose, 28 


V 


Valenciennes, china, 173, 174 

Van Hysum, flowers, 276 

Vaume, J. S. 211 

Vaux, china, 158 

Vegetable-shaped dishes, 237 

Venice, 8; china, 92-95; Venetian 
motifs, 94 

Versailles, 106, 137, 138, 139; 
palace of, 9 

Vezzi, china, 92, 93; factory, 218 

Victoria and Albert Museum, 8, 
108 

Vienna, 85,°86, 87, G0; china, 
201-203 

de Villeroy, Duc, 115 

Vincennes, 87, I15, 117, 118; 
china, 119-127; chateau de, 
119; factory, 141 

Vincennes (Hannong) china, 153- 
155 

Vinovo china, IOI, 102 

Volpato, 102 


INDEX 


W 


Walker, 282, 283; Walker, 
Brown, Aldred and Richman, 
255 

Wall, Dr. John, 240, 242 

Wallace Collection, 146 

Wallendorf, 200 

Walpole, Horace, 11, 12 

Wandhelein, Karl, 85, 86 

Wan Li, three-colour scheme, 49, 
50; five-colour scheme, 49, 50 

Warehouse, Chelsea, 233 

Warham, Archbishop, 42; Bowl, 
42 

Warmstry House, 240, 242 

Watteau, 118, 185, 209, 238, 246 

Weatherby, 221, 223 

Wedgwood, Aaron, 251; cameos, 
91; china, 279, 280; Josiah, 261 

Weesp china, 207, 208, 209 

Wegeli, Wilhelm Caspar, 187, 190 

Wellington, Duke of, 177 

“Wheatsheaf and pheasant’’, 
patterns, 238 

“White” Ting, 43 

William and Mary, 4 


325 


Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury, 
236, 237 

“Willow pattern”, 292; Caugh- 
ley, 269, 270 

**Wirksworth china, 258, 287, 288 

Worcester, 34, 90; china, 240- 
247; Cheapside Warehouse, 242 
painters, 272; Worcester Royal 
Porcelain Company, 243; Wor- 
cester Tonkin Manufacture, 
240; workmen and decorators, 
257 

‘‘Worm sprig”’, 272 

““Wreathing’’, 262 

AW bes at, Wan: «Li, 


scheme, 50 


colour 


Y 


Young, W. Weston, 280, 281 

St. Yrieix, kaolin mines, 
143, 170 

Yuan Dynasty, 39, 43, 44 


89, 


Z 


Zurich china, 602 


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